I am Will
by redfox1303
Summary: William is fifteen when his parents are brutally murdered. Left with only a cryptic message he sets out with his younger brother to find their uncle in hopes of getting answers. (Part 1 of the 'I am Will' series)
1. Chapter 1

The two boys ambled down the sidewalk, the same route they took every day on their way home from school. The air grew bitter with the fall months as November drew ever closer.

"My hands are cold" The smallest boy complained.

Nine years separated the brothers, and although William wanted to protect his younger sibling he had to admit at times it was hard having a six year old trailing after him.

"Put your gloves on then"

"I can't, I lost them today…"

William rolled his eyes, "Again? Seriously? Mum is going to go nuts, she only just replaced the last pair!"

The youngest kicked through a pile of crinkled leaves.

"Alex, you need to take better care of your stuff"

William sighed, there was no bother in even trying to get through to him.

They walked in silence, the sound of rustling leaves filling the absence of conversation. Home was the next block over and William was already planning an evening of violent video games to distract him from calculus homework.

"Can I borrow your gloves?" Alex asked under his breath.

"What? No, you lost yours, you're not losing mine too" Will stuck a headphone in one ear hitting 'play' on the iPod.

"But you're not even wearing yours" Alex protested.

"Well, you need to learn to take responsibility"

Alex pulled a face, rucking his hands up into his coat sleeves and accepting defeat.

His snotty faced younger brother may have been a royal pain in the ass, but William loved him all the same. After all, Alex was a miracle, or so his parents had always maintained.

William's adoptive parents had tried for years to conceive a child, failing with every IVF treatment, and so they decided to adopt. Eight years later, when he was the centre of their world, William received the incredible news that he was going to have a younger brother. Nine months after that, Alex was born.

"Here" He said, fumbling inside his backpack and handing a pair of gloves over, "You lose these, I'm gonna kick your butt"

Alex grinned stupidly as his big brother helped him wrestle his frozen hands into the oversized mitts.

They pushed open the old wooden gate leading through the backyard of their home. It swung on its rusty hinges making a familiar creaky sound.

Their father was always home early from work on Fridays and their mother would have started cooking casserole for dinner. He'd never admit it, but the family routine made William feel safe. In a world of uncertainty and doubt of belonging, Williams mother always ensured her eldest felt unquestionably loved. He knew that his mother was worried about him feeling second in the ranks after her biological son.

'He's got your eyes' William had once heard his grandmother remark on a new born Alex. William had studied himself in his bedroom mirror that evening, cursing himself for looking totally different from his family. He grabbed a fist full of his messy dark brown hair wondering if he could will it to spontaneously change blonde to match his mother and brothers.

William pulled his house keys from his jean pocket and made to unlock the door. His hand hovered in mid air as he stared quizzically at the broken door handle. Shattered glass littered the step leading up and even onto the lawn.

"What happened?" Alex reached for the handle.

"No, don't" William grabbed his wrist, pulling him back, "Don't touch anything"

There was blood on the doorframe. A sudden dread filled his bones and William felt adrenaline pulse through his veins. Something was very wrong.

"Are Mom and Dad inside?" Alex trailed.

William pulled his brother away from the back door and gestured him to a safe distance.

"Was that blood?"

"Don't move from that spot. You stay right there, understand?"

"But…"

"Promise me you won't move"

William held his breath, wondering why on earth he was being so stupid as to enter a crime scene, but he had to know where his parents were, if they were hurt.

He eased the door open making sure to leave it ajar for a speedy exit if one was needed. The place was a wreck. The coffee table was smashed to pieces and the phone lay off the hook on the floor, bleeping continuously against the hardwood.

He cleared his throat cautiously, "Mom… Dad… is anyone here?"

His foot stepped backwards into a pool of blood. He felt the air escape him and his eyes followed the trail deathly slow until it reached the cold dead body of his mother.

She lay on her side, her eyes closed, the life gone from her. Crimson soaking her blouse from a bullet hole in her chest.

William wasn't aware of falling but he found himself on the ground beside her, his hands shaking, hovering over her as his eyes threatened tears.

He touched her shoulder ever so delicately, "Mom…" He sobbed. This could not be real.

"William…" A laboured voice came from the kitchen. His father no doubt.

William dragged himself up swiftly following the cries. His legs were wobbly with shock as he willed them to perform.

"William…" His father lay flat on his back, bleeding out onto the kitchen tiles.

Another bullet entry wound in his chest. The blood was haemorrhaging onto the floor; with every heartbeat his body expelled more.

"Dad" He breathed, startled by the scene.

Stem the bleed. Stem the bleed. His conscious screamed at him.

William grabbed a hand full of tea towels off the hook and pressed hard onto the wound, cringing as his father moaned in agony.

"I'm going to call 911"

"No." His father grabbed his wrist with blooded hands, "William, listen to me…" He coughed and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, "You must go. Take Alex. Too dangerous"

"I'll get help. Mom… she's dead" He'd said it and it had made it real. His mother was gone. His heart tightened at the realisation.

His father shook his head with the little life he had left in him "No cops. Can't tell anyone. You have to go find Skinner, Uncle Walter. Walter will help you. It's the only way you will be safe…"

"I don't understand. Why is this happening?"

William heard the back door creak open and his younger brother enter the house, his sneakers crunching on shattered glass, "Will…?"

"Alex, stay outside, please!" He was trying desperately to sound calm but wasn't tremendously convincing.

"Only Walter. Only trust him. Please...promise me…"

In an instant he was gone. His last breath left his lips and his eyes closed heavily. His head fell gradually to the side and William was left cradling his lifeless father. An orphan once more.

Resting his head carefully on the tiles, William rose from his father's body. He glanced across at his mother and then down to his hands. They didn't feel like they belonged to him anymore. Resisting the urge to pass out, he wiped the blood onto his jeans, shaking uncontrollably.

Not safe here, he repeated. Walter, find Uncle Walter.

What the hell was Uncle Walter supposed to do about this? He'd not seen his uncle since his tenth birthday. They'd not spoken since then either. Where even was his uncle, didn't he live in D.C?

"Will…" Alex called warily again.

"I'm coming, just one minute, stay put"

Address. Need an address. He flung open the coffee table door and grabbed wildly for the address book. The paper stained with dried blood each time he flicked a page.

'W, w, w…Walter Skinner!' His finger ran to the name and he tore the page straight out.

Keys. Car keys. Where were the damn car keys?! He skidded back into the kitchen, spotted his dads 4x4 keys and swiped them off the kitchen counter, just in time to hear the screams of his younger brother echo through the house.

He caught Alex in the hallway pulling him tight to his chest to shield him from the sight of their blood soaked mother. He continued to scream and cry into his chest.

"We have to go. Now Alex!"

They were in the 4x4 pulling out of the garage and tearing along the asphalt. Alex had stopped screaming and William wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Put your seat belt on"

Alex sat expressionless, completely oblivious to the request. He leaned across and fastened the buckle for him. His car seat was in the back but they'd overlook that for now, it wasn't exactly top of the priorities list and besides, he wanted him upfront where he could keep an eye on him.

"It's going to be okay. We're going to go find Uncle Skinner. Dad said he would help us…" The words sounded crazy and he wasn't sure if it was Alex he was trying to assure or himself.

Thank God the neighbours were unaware of the turmoil of the Van De Kamp household. How they'd not heard a gunshot fired he did not know. Perhaps the intruders had used a silencer. Shit. Were they being followed? Frantically, Will glanced at the rear view mirror. No cars. No sketchy looking followers. Hopefully they were okay.

Question after question flooded his mind. Should they have gone straight to the neighbours, or to the cops for that matter? He didn't have a licence. They were bound to get pulled over, and then what? He had to formulate a plan and fast. Pulling out the scrunched up paper he un-creased in on the steering wheel re-reading the postcode. Definitely D.C. He was sure his father had mentioned him working in the J Edgar Hoover building, but whether that was still the case now was another matter. No phone number, typical. Phone! He jumped at the thought, determined that his cell would help them in some way, only to sink back down on remembering it was shoved in his backpack which still lay on the hall floor. What was he supposed to do with a phone and no one to call anyway?

They joined the main arterial road into D.C just as the evening drew in. They'd been driving for hours by now in complete silence as he'd kept watch, paranoid that they were being followed. William was thankful his father had taught him to drive, even if he didn't own a licence and clearly had a lack of road traffic sense. He was just about pulling it off nonetheless. His eyes felt heavy as the adrenaline began to wear off. The hundreds of headlights were becoming all the more dazzling by the hour.

"Alex, do you want to stop for a break?"

His little brother slouched fast asleep against his seatbelt. Dreaming dreams of happy families and no fatalities. He didn't have the heart to wake him.


	2. Chapter 2

With only a few hours sleep in the back of the car pulled over in a 'No Parking' bay they finally made in to D.C. Will had parked up as close as possible to the looming Hoover building. Card holders only car parking facilities for employees made it all the more difficult and they'd got lost twice trying to find the place.

The city was much as Will had imagined. Loud, fast and dirty. Huge buildings towered overhead and Alex had clung to his older brother desperately as they navigated the streets. They tackled the long line of stone steps leading up to the front entrance of the Hoover building.

"Why are we here?" Alex asked earnestly.

"I told you, we have to find Uncle Walter, and I think he works in this building"

"Who is Uncle Walter?"

"Our uncle, Dad's brother… I think"

"I don't remember him…"

"You wouldn't, you were still a baby when we last saw him. To be honest I don't even really remember what he looks like. I just know this is our best chance right now, so trust me, okay?"

Large glass doors opened as they entered and William immediately felt suspicious eyes fall upon them from security. He cautiously rolled his blood stained sleeves of his chequered shirt as not to draw more unwanted attention. Luckily the place was vibrant and alive with employees and visitors moving about.

"Stay here for just a minute" Will shuffled Alex onto a bench just inside the door, "I'm going to go talk with someone"

Alex refused to let go of his shirt.

"One minute, that's all I'll be, right over there, you can watch me, and then I'll come straight back" He peeled away from the firm grip of the six year old. "Don't move"

William approached the desk. A smartly dressed woman wearing an uninspired expression addressed him.

"Are you with a school group?"

"Umm, no, actually I really need to speak to Walter Skinner, he's my uncle, he works here"

"A lot of people work here, son"

"This is really important"

"I'm sorry but this is a heavily restricted building, I can't help you"

"I just travelled across the state to see him…" Will felt desperation creeping its way through him.

"I'm sorry but the fact remains, we can't just let people go wondering around unattended. Now please leave, or I'll have to call someone to remove you off the premises"

William took the hint and backed away.

He glanced back to Alex who was twiddling his fingers and kicking his heels back and forth from the bench.

Frustration plagued him. Why the hell was this happening to them? Why had his father sent them on some cryptic goose chase to find a relative they knew nothing about? Above all else he was scared' scared for their future, scared for their lives.

He had to do something. He was all Alex had left and if Walter was his father's last hope for them, he had to do everything in his power to make that happen.

The rhythmic sound of card keys clicking against barriers allowing employees into their work resonated around him. Hastily he checked that the woman at the desk was otherwise engaged. A homeless man drunkenly wandering into the building had caught the security guy's attention. He saw his chance. Swiping a card key from a tall bald man passing in front of him carrying a Styrofoam cup and deep in a phone conversation. The card was clipped to the bottom of his suit. In a swift motion William bumped into him, apologised and grabbed the key. Turning on his heal, he approached the metal barriers, swiped the key card and watch in triumph as the red light flashed to green and allowed him access.

"Stop that kid!"

The woman behind the desk had spotted him and rose from her chair.

"Security! Get security on him now!"

William didn't have time to think. He ran for the elevator but there were too many people trying to cram into it. He ducked under a security guard that came out of nowhere and darted to the staircase easily outpacing the overweight guard on his tail. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Alex crawling under the barrier to follow him. Luckily he had the entirety of security on him by this stage so Alex went by unnoticed.

Reaching the second floor the men were already way behind him. He looked completely out of place nonetheless amongst hundreds of office workers sporting suit and ties. A man intercepted him by the elevator. Grey suited apposed to the security printed uniform; he was seemingly the man in charge. Will backed away straight into the path of the two security guards that had finally caught him up at the stairs. Both men grabbed his arms. Alex shot past them and got grabbed by a third man; he was now screaming the roof down. Will struggled hard, fighting against the heavyset guards.

"That's enough!" A firm blow to the stomach left him hunched over in pain. The man's punch was enough to stop him struggling back.

"He's a minor, don't use force!" Someone else yelled in the background of chaos.

It had all become a blur, his parents murder, a seven-hour joyride across state, breaking into a government building. He was expecting to wake up at any minute. Pleading it was all just a dream.

He lay on the floor feeling his damp hair stick against his face with sweat, breathing deeply with eyes watering. Forceful hands locked his wrists into cuffs.

"Walter Skinner! Please, I need to speak with him! It's an emergency"

"Punk-ass kid makin' me haul my ass up two flights of stairs first thing in the damn morning…" The man mumbled to himself.

"Walter Skinner!"

"Quiet, kid, you're in enough trouble as it is"

…..

From behind his office door the greying Assistant Director overheard the disturbance out in the hall. He rubbed the corner of his eye beneath his spectacles hoping the commotion would cease quickly.

Sighing, he rolled his chair leather chair away from the computer screen.

"Helen, what the hell is going on out there?" He called to his secretary.

She was already hovering at the doorframe watching the fight commence at a safe distance.

"I don't know, Sir, it looks like two young boys…"

Walter darted into the hall to intervene the struggle, stopping abruptly as the faces came into view.

"William…" He utter in complete surprise.

Pinned to the ground, dressed in blooded jeans and a now torn shirt was the son of his two dearest friends and ex-colleagues. Years ago in that very hallway he'd restrained William's father after a drug-induced attack. Now here they were, a new generation of Mulder causing disturbances in a governmental building once more. Like father, like son.

"That's enough!" His booming words carried down the length of the corridor and the security guards released the resisting boy at once.

He rolled the cuffed teenager onto his side and helped him to his feet.

"I'll take care of this gentlemen" His authority stood and the guards reluctantly backed off.

He dragged both the adolescent by the scruff towards the elevator, William still dazed and confused. As soon as the silver doors closed shut behind them he turned his attention to Mulder's offspring.

"Are you hurt?"

William, still catching his breath shook his head.

"I can't believe we found you…"

Skinner checked his eyes for concussion and fussed over minor cuts and scrapes. He breathed a sigh of relief noting the blood was not Williams.

"This is Alexander, your brother…?" It was neither a question nor a statement. He'd been a baby when Skinner had last checked up on William, back when colonisation date was a threat.

"Yes, it's Alex"

"Are you alright?" Skinner bent down to the youngsters level to give him a quick checking over.

The boy nodded.

"You act like you're not surprised we're here" William interjected, "Uncle Walter, Mom and Dad…they're de-"

"Not here." Skinner cut him off. "It's not safe. Wait until we're downstairs"

…..

The elevator jolted to a stop on the lower level. Walter led the way and the boys followed reluctantly behind. They stopped outside a locked room. It looked like it had been out of use for quite some time and the name tags had been removed and left blank. The man pulled a key from his suit pocket and fumbled with the latch.

"You know what happened. Why we're here." William spoke. His trust for this man was diminishing rapidly.

"I know both your parents are dead, yes" It was a matter of fact, "This wasn't supposed to happen…"

"What are you talking about?"

"No one was supposed to know"

"Know what?" His patience was wearing thin. His parents were shot dead not twenty-four hours ago. He had no time for guessing games.

"Know about you" Skinner refused to make eye contact; he pushed the heavy door open to reveal a small leaky room.

The walls were plastered in newspaper cuttings, most of which were pealing off along with the white chip paint. A projector hung from the ceiling and a huge wooden desk stood in the middle of the room taking up the majority of space. Filing cabinets stacked high decorated the entirety of one side of the room. Some of the files were left open and papers littered the dusty floor.

"Me…. what about me?"

"Know where you were. No one knew, only me. Not even your birth parents knew where you were placed after they let you go…"

William studied the man in front of him, unsure of truth or lies. All he knew was that nothing made sense anymore.

"I want answers. Right now."

Skinner rummaged in the top section of the far cabinet and pulled out two FBI badges in his hand.

"I'm not sure I'm the right person to give you the answers you want to hear" He slipped the badges in his jacket and pulled out a small handcuff key, "…but I will do everything in my power to help you"

The click released the cuffs and William rubbed his tender wrists.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Walter pocketing a handgun.

"You're not our real uncle" William stated.

"No, I'm not" the man confirmed.

"Who are you?"

"A friend of your parents, your real parents"

A slinky toppled to the floor from the desk and William jumped in surprise, "Alex, don't touch anything!"

His younger brother shoved his hands in his pockets to signify his compliance.

"Why were our parents murdered? Why did my father not want to get the cops involved?" William pressed.

"Listen to me, I will tell you what I know but right now my priority is getting you both somewhere safe. We don't know, they could have followed you all the way here"

William felt paper crease under his step and lifted his foot from the large poster of a flying saucer beneath him. The words 'I want to believe' written in bold across the top.

"How can we know to trust you?"

"You can't. But I can assure you, I'm your best chance of staying alive"


	3. Chapter 3

They'd been on the road for almost four hours driving across state. They'd travelled mostly in silence though William was desperate to swarm him with more questions. He was glad the man had listened to his plea to take the 4x4. It was the last reminisce of their past life and he wanted desperately to cling on to it.

"How old are you?" Skinner asked out of the blue.

"You should know, 'Uncle'!"

"No, I meant I'm pretty sure you don't have a licence yet"

"I don't."

"And you drove across state without a licence…?"

William scoured at him, "My parents had just been shot dead, and you expected me to take driving lessons before getting out of there, did you?"

"Watch it, smart ass. Have some respect for your god damn elders!"

Will looked out of the passenger side window; he was hardly in the mood to argue with his fake uncle.

"Dad taught me…"

The roads grew smaller and dirt tracked as they left the city behind them. They were heading west, that was as much as he could gather. He peered over his shoulder; his younger sibling slumped in the backseat fastened into his booster chair and fiddling with a rubix cube he'd discovered under the seat.

Will knew he needed to talk to Alex, the moment they had a chance and a little more stability and security. They'd put aside their parents death out of necessity to survive, but as the fight or flight instinct was beginning to wear off they'd have to confront a lot of heartache.

"Is he okay?" Skinner asked.

"I don't know. He saw his parents die yesterday, what exactly can you expect from that?"

Skinner hesitated, "Listen, it's going to be okay. We're going to get you somewhere safe, get people to help you both-"

There was a loud blast and glass showered over them as the back window blew out.

"Shit!" Skinner yelled, slamming his foot on the accelerator, "Get your head down, now!"

Alex screamed from the back as he buried his head into his hands.

The car swerved violently losing control, and Skinner barely managed to pull it back onto the straight road.

"What's happening?!"

"Open the glove compartment!" Skinner ordered.

"Are they shooting at us?"

William clicked open the compartment and a heavy black gun fell into his lap. He flinched as it did. He'd never seen a gun so close up, let alone held one. It was unnatural.

"Give it to me"

He handed the gun across to the old man, making sure to keep his head ducked. The wing mirrors blew off on both sides of the vehicle, one after another.

William buried his head into his lap covering his ears, readily awaiting death. A loud crash encased them and he was convinced they were done for. He paused, as the car behind them veered into the ditch and caught alight in an almighty explosion. Skinner drove faster, escaping the madness as quickly as possible.

"What the hell happened?!"

"We got company, I don't know how they found us… it's okay, they're dead"

"How'd you-"

"I took their tires out, luckily they were bad enough shot they didn't manage to take ours out first"

William struggled to catch his breath. His heart was pacing so fast he thought it might tare itself from his chest. He undid his seatbelt, throwing himself into the back seat.

"Alex, are you alright?" He asked, gently pulling bits of glass tangled in his brother's hair.

"I think so. Are we okay now, did they go away?"

"Yes, yeah, we're safe now, it's alright, we're fine"

William hugged his brother tight before scrambling back into the front seat, Skinner frowning at him as he almost booted him in the face as he clambered across.

He lowered his voice to avoid Alex overhearing, "How do we know there aren't more of them?"

"We don't, but I think we're going to be alright. They looked like rouges, none of our own"

"Our own? Who are we expecting to meet exactly?"

Skinner didn't answer. He rubbed his shoulder and winced, retracting it to see a blood covered hand.

"Ohh, shit" William breathed, "You got shot"

Skinner shook it off, "I'll be alright"

…..

They'd been speeding along the track into darkness when William was jolted awake by the sound of the tires scraping gravel.

He grabbed the steering wheel just in time to pull them back on course before Skinner passed out at the wheel.

"Walter!" He cried, and the man slammed on the breaks.

The car grinded to an uncomfortable halt and William noted the man's white shirt now tie-dyed with red.

"Shit" He whispered.

William paused for a moment, considering their options. They needed to find a hospital. They needed help. The raindrops grew larger and before long the window screen was streaming with water. The car grew colder inside as the night drew in.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked from the back seat.

"Be quiet, I'm thinking" William continued to study the injured man beside him. He pulled the road map from the back seat pocket and tried desperately to figure out where they were.

"Walter" He nudged the man awake, "Where are we, can you show me on here?"

Skinner mopped sweat from his brow and tried to focus his eyes.

"Here" He said, pointing to a long road to nowhere.

"Right, I'm going to find the nearest hospital"

"No. We have to make it to the safe house. Help will come for us there, I've put the word out"

"But you might not make it there" William hesitated at the seeping wound, "It looks pretty bad"

Skinner shook his head uncomfortably, "Here" He trailed his finger further along the map, "We need to get here"

William sighed. This was not what he'd expected. Everything was supposed to be fine when he found Walter. His father had assured him this man would help them, but that was not the case, they were still in immediate and evident danger, only now they were stuck out in the middle of no-man's-land.

"Undo your seatbelt, Alex"

William forced the door open into the freezing weather. He hauled Walter from the drivers seat and helped him carefully into the back where he stretched him out across the entire backseat.

"Hold this here" He instructed, pressing a towel onto his uncle's chest.

Skinner grimaced, "More like your parents than I thought, kid"

"Parents are the ones that raise you. Biological parents are nothing if they abandon you as mine did…. My parents are dead"

"If only you knew, William…"

William shut the back door and dragged his drenched self into the drivers seat, adjusting it hastily to reach the pedals.

"You alright?" He asked the sodden child beside him.

"Yeah" Alex nodded.

Will rustled his fingers through his damp hair and droplets fell onto his lap. 'Great', he though, no food or water, and now they were about to get pretty damn cold. It was going to be an unpleasant drive.

…..

The roads grew narrower as they began winding down local lanes. William studied the map this way and that, trying to figure out where on earth they were.

"I need a pee" Alex complained.

"We're not far now, I'm sure of it"

The car slowed to a break as they approached a large and intimidating metal gate. William took one last look at the map, holding it up close to eye level.

"This is it, this is where he showed us"

The rain had eased off enough to see the outline of a house at the end of the driveway.

"Are you sure we're there?" Alex asked kneeling to get a better view.

"Well there's no other houses for miles, it's got to be…"

"It doesn't look like anyone's home, the lights are all off" Alex pointed out.

"Wake up Uncle Walter"

Alex jumped into the back whilst William searched the car for a flashlight. Eventually he found a small handheld one hidden in the side door compartment, he clicked it on to check the battery was still alive.

"He's talking funny, he won't wake up properly"

At least that meant he was still alive, albeit in bad shape.

"Okay, listen Alex, I want you to stay right here and keep quiet. I'm just going to check it out before we go in"

"But it's dark, I don't like the dark, please don't leave me on my own" Alex begged.

"I need you to stay here and look after Uncle Walter. I need you to be brave and do this for me"

Alex didn't look convinced.

William was careful not to alert too much attention to the gun he'd slipped into his back pocket. He wasn't entirely sure what they'd come up against inside.

"You'll be fine"

With that, Will closed the door on his disconcerted brother. At least he'd be safe there whilst he checked out the house. Alex watched his every step intently through the misty windscreen.

The lawn was soggy beneath his step and he felt the grass squelch in places. He could see his own dragon breath in the light from the small flashlight as he held it up towards the house. William approached ever slower towards the closest window. Cautiously he shone the flashlight through. The place looked completely deserted. He moved around to the front door and wiggled the handle. Locked. Typical.

No one else was around for miles, they were completely alone out there and they needed to get inside and fast. Without a moment's hesitation, William picked up a bulky rock and launched it through the window, ducking as shards of glass rained down on him. Subconsciously he scanned around him, waiting for someone to yell at him for vandalism. Of course, no such abuse came.

He pushed away the remaining bits of glass stuck in the frame with his elbow protected by his shirt, and crawled through the window landing with a thud on the carpeted floor.

"Hello" He yelled into the darkness, "Anyone….?"

Not a soul in the vicinity.


	4. Chapter 4

With a great degree of struggle, William heaved the semi-conscious Walter into the empty house. With everything plunged into blackness it was incredibly difficult to navigate the unfamiliar place. It smelt lived in, which confused him a little as he's assumed it to be abandoned for some time.

"I think there's a bedroom round to the left there" William stated, still half dragging his uncle, "Shine the torch there, Alex"

They managed to get him into the main bedroom where William eased him onto the bed. It was unmade, and he didn't want to imagine the person who's home they were invading.

"I'm going to try and get the power back on"

It took a while to find the fuse box, but after a bit of fiddling the electricity surged and everything came to life in the house. William was chuffed he'd not electrocuted himself; electronics was not his strong point.

The bulbs flickered and light erupted into the room revealing a homely residence that looked very much lived in. Thick winter coats hung on the hangers in the porch, snow boots abandoned in a messy heap, and a huge porcelain lamp with a tacky shade illuminated the room in a warming glow.

William ran his hand over the coats. For the first time in two days he felt remotely safe, and strangely, remotely familiar as well.

There was a vast fireplace in the centre of the living room, and a comfy looking coach with a fleece blanket draped over the back. A huge rug drew the room together. There was art on the walls, plants pots that appeared well looked after, but no photo frames in sight. No suggestion of a family.

Will grabbed a glass from the kitchen cupboard, filled it with cold water and returned to the bedroom.

"Here" He said, handing the glass to Walter.

"Thanks" Walter accepted it, gulping the lot fast, "This doesn't make any sense, they were supposed to be here to meet us already"

"There's no one here but us…" William assured, "So, what do we do now?"

"We wait. They'll come, we just have to hold tight, bunker down"

"And what about that" William gestured to Walter's chest wound, "You need a doctor"

"There was supposed to be a medic here…"

"Well, there isn't, and I've already watched two of my relatives bleed to death recently"

"Alright, calm down" Walter reassured, "Can you find a med kit, you can help me clean this up a bit at least. That'll buy me some time"

…..

William helped Walter clean and dress his gun shot injury. He liked to think of himself as capable of dealing with any kind of gruesome injury but in all honesty he'd had to resist the urge to throw up on more than one occasion. Dosed up on painkillers he's left the man to sleep, at least for a few hours rest. He ran the tap in the en suit bathroom and watched as the water changed colour as the blood ran down the plug hole.

William drifted into the kitchen, about to collapse from exhaustion himself. Alex was sat at the large oak table surrounded by all sorts of foods he'd seemingly helped himself to. A loaf of bread lay opened and a jar of peanut butter eagerly dug at with a spoon, a huge tub of chocolate ice cream and a whole block of cheese.

"Made yourself at home already then?" William smiled, helping himself to a couple of slices of bread, his brother silently stuffing his face.

"What are you, a mouse?" He asked, holding up the cheese and examining the bite marks scoured into it.

Alex grinned, his mouth covered in a chocolatey peanut butter mess.

They continued to eat ravenously.

"Hey, listen. I know we haven't exactly spoken about Mom and Dad since….you know…."

Will watched as his brother tensed up immediately.

"But I think it would do us both good to talk about it"

"They're really gone…?" Alex mumbled.

"Yeah, Alex… they are"

"They're both dead." His eyes welled as he stated the fact.

William felt himself break too. Hearing his brother utter those words was too much to bear. He encased his brother in a tight embrace and the two sobbed into one another's still damp sweaters.

Minutes past as William sat with Alex on his lap, clinging desperately onto his big brother.

"Come on" He whispered. "We need to get some dry clothes on, and try and get some rest"

Will lead his brother to one of the smaller rooms and they both raided the wardrobe. There was something very odd about stealing another man's clothes but the current situation called for it. Alex pulled out a New York Knicks jersey and held it up against him. Will couldn't help chuckle, the jersey was enormous against his little frame. Alex wriggled out of his top, discarding the clothes in a heap on the floor. Sure enough the jersey drowned him, but he was happy and dry and that was what mattered.

Will helped himself to a pair of grey sweat pants and a hoodie. He wriggled into a fresh pair of socks. They were woollen and warm; besides the fact the heel were half way up his ankle. Whomevers clothes they had stolen were certainly over 6ft.

In the living room William pilled the throw cushions from the coach onto the rug and pulled the thick blanket over his younger brother, tucking him in snug.

"Get some sleep, okay"

Alex nodded and rolled onto his side, burying his face into the plump cushion.

Will flicked off the overhead light and left the tableside lamp on dimly.

"G'night Alex" He spoke softly, and left him in peace.

Poking his head into Walter's room he could see the man's chest rise and fall with sleep. He didn't want to wake him to harass him with further questions. He could do that in the morning. Instead, Will wandered the house, exploring all the room's they'd not yet investigated.

There was a closed door, the only closed door in the whole house, but a key hang haphazardly from its lock. 'Curious' William thought. He turned the key and it clicked open. Once he'd patted the inside wall for the light switch the room illuminated before his eyes.

'What the hell was this place?' Posters and newspaper clippings plastered the wall. It was almost a mirror image of the basement office Walter had ushered them into earlier that very morning. A computer monitor buzzed at the desk, and scientific journals littered most of its surface. A number of pencils hung from the ceiling threatening to fall and impale him at any given moment.

There was a photograph on one of the shelves, unusual only because of the apparent lack of pictures anywhere else in the household. Will held it to eye level; it was a girl, young with brown hair. The photograph was old; it's corners worn at the edge of the frame. He wondered who she was, a child of the homeowners perhaps, but the photograph looked to be from the seventies.

There was a sudden sound of muffled words, and Will darted into Walter's room fearing the worst. He took a sigh of relief; thank God it was a dream. Walter rolled onto his side and snored loudly. His suit lay scrunched up on beside the kings sized bed. William made to pick the clothes up and put them on the stool, as he did two FBI ID badges slipped out of the pant pocket and onto the floor. The same badges he'd watched Walter collect from the filing cabinet in the basement office.

Curiosity got the better of him. William pocketed the badges and folded the clothes neatly on the stool, heading swiftly back into the disorganized study. He sunk himself into the leather office chair and pulled out the stolen badges. 'Who's were they? Why were they important enough for Walter to take?'

Slowly he opened the first ID. A thirty-plus year old man looked right back at him. He seemed tall from the mug shot, and had messy brown hair, much like his own. William scanned the name, "Fox Mulder", he read out loud, "Federal Bureau of Investigation". Must have been a work colleague of Walter's, he supposed.

He flipped open the other badge. Auburn hair, a beautifully featured face; the woman staring back at him looked kind hearted yet troubled. In the strangest of ways she seemed familiar. Will ran his thumb along the side of the badge; the stitching was beginning to wear thin. Perhaps they'd been out of the Bureau for a while.

The gently humming of the computer monitor turned hypnotic, gradually helping him transit into slumber. He was beyond tired and there was little where else to sleep. Unknowingly, his head fell backwards, arms dropped by his side and the badges slipped into his lap as he fell peacefully to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_William was running in slow motion. He willed his limbs to move faster but they would not carry him at any great measure. His senses were clouded, the colours softer and the sounds muffled._

 _He ran for the back door screaming his parent's names allowed, terrified of what he expected to find._

 _"_ _Mom!' he searched desperately, "Dad!"_

 _The house was empty, no trace of destruction. He rushed into the kitchen, the walls blurring against his vision._

 _"_ _What is it, honey?" His mother stood at the sink, clearing a pile of dishes. She looked carefree and natural._

 _Williams' heart leapt as he hugged his mother tight, 'I thought I'd lost you…'._

 _"_ _Are you alright, son?" His father asked, reading the paper at the kitchen table, "You look like you've seen a ghost…"_

 _…_ _.._

"William!" Hands grabbed his shoulder, "William!" The voice grew closer. "Will, wake up!"

His parents faded gradually from sight. 'No, come back to me, please'. Blood. So much blood soaked their bodies. Their lifeless faces flashed back at him. Pale and dead, as he'd last left them.

"William!"

Will jolted awake, almost falling off the office chair. Breathing deeply with panic he was just able to rouse himself back to reality. The only light source came from that of the computer screen as it buzzed rhythmically in front of them.

"Alex" He breathed, finding his little brother pulling at his hoodie, "What the hell's the matter?!" He rubbed his eyes with his palms half wondering how long he'd been asleep for.

"There's a man outside" Alex whispered.

"At the door?"

Alex shook his head, "No, I saw him through the window. He was staring at me…"

William raised an eyebrow. The people they were waiting for, perhaps? Surely they'd have a key to the house. Why would they be loitering outside?

Will yawned and rolled out of the office chair, pocketing the FBI badges again, and dragging himself to the window. He lifted the blind peering through the tiniest slit. Rain trickled down the windowpane. Sure enough there was a man stood in the middle of the lawn, dressed in a long leather jacket. The rain cascaded over him but he didn't flinch a muscle, even when thunder occasionally boomed. The man glared right at him, in the most unsettling of manners.

"Can you see him?" Alex asked.

"Yes. I think…I think he can see me too"

Will dropped the blind backing away from the window. He didn't like this one bit. Something didn't feel right. The figure marched out of sight, and towards the front door.

The boys stood in silence, listening carefully. Loud steps echoed as the man strode up onto the porch approaching the front door.

"What do we do?" Alex breathed.

William grabbed his younger brother by the wrist leading him hurriedly into the smaller spare room. He pulled open the wardrobe door and yanked a pile of blankets off of the top shelf.

"What are you doing?!"

"Shh, hiding you. You need to keep quiet"

Before his brother had a chance to answer back, William picked him up onto his shoulder and piled him onto the top shelf, quickly hiding him under a blanket before closing the door.

"Stay here" He ordered.

Where was the gun? Where had he left the gun? William dashed into the living room grabbing the handgun off of the side table where he'd casually left it. He flicked the dim lamp back on and waited for his eyes to adjust. There was no use in hiding; this person already knew they were inside.

The doorknob turned from the other side, sticking on the lock as it did. Thank God this guy didn't know about the broken window too. William could hear his own shallow breathing. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his face with tension.

There was a loud crack and the door was forced open, the entirety falling to the ground from its hinges. A dark figure made it's way inside. Its face did not look right. It's expression unsettling. The man entered, heading right for William, never losing eye contact.

"Who are you?" William asked shakily, pointing the gun directly at the man.

"Don't move. Stay right there!"

The man ignored him, continuing ever closer.

"Stop!" William yelled, backing away from the towering man.

William fired just as the man batted his arm forcefully away. The bullet ricocheted into the wall and Will dropped the gun on the floor, out of reach. The man's powerful hands grabbed him by his neck, lifting him up off of the floor.

This was it. There was no escape. William tried to scream but nothing escaped his mouth, instead he listened to himself choking under the man's hold. He kicked hard into the being's chest but he didn't move a muscle. His arms pulled helplessly at the large hands, desperate for air.

Just as he was about to pass out, another figure appeared behind them both, driving a knife into the tall man's back. The knife struck once, twice, until it sunk into the base of the tall man's neck, paralyzing him. The large hands dropped him to the ground, where he gasped for air curled on the floor. William's eyes refused to focus. Shapes moved all around him, voices that he could not make out. He could sense the tall man lying still beside him, dead.

"Willllliiiiaaaamm" The disjointed cries came from his brother who'd sprinted over to the scene.

His eyes caught a glimpse of Alex rushing to his side. The second man was hovering above him. He could just make out the man's face, it looked recognizable but he could not work out where from. There was another, a female with red hair. She appeared from nowhere, holding Alex away from him. Alex was struggling to be freed. Were these people good or bad, he couldn't tell. The woman restrained Alex, covering his mouth as he fought back.

There was green liquid on the floor around them.

"Don't breath" He saw her lips speak but didn't hear the words spoken.

The woman turned to her partner; and William just about made the next sentence out, "Not safe here".

The auburn woman took one last look at William and then turned to leave, still restraining his very fraught younger brother.

'Don't take him away from me. Not Alex' William plead subconsciously. He tried to reach for him in his dazed state. Out of the corner of his sight he saw Alex's little hands reaching for him over the woman's shoulder. His mouth wide open, screaming and crying with tears streaming down his face.

The familiar man bent over him. William felt hands clutching him, lifting him up off of the ground and hoisting him over a shoulder. He couldn't figure out what was happening. He felt an arm holding under one of his legs and the corresponding arm. The person was sincere; he could feel the inhaling and exhaling as he hauled him from the house.

"Alex" were his final, fragile words as darkness engulfed him.


	6. Chapter 6

Dana Scully marched her way out of the Lady of Sorrows hospital, still in surgical attire. She'd been about to enter into the operating room before she received the message she never wanted to get.

As she headed into the car-parking block, Scully clicked her phone onto speed dial. The contact 'Fox Mulder' appeared on her screen.

"Mulder, it's me, I'm leaving now"

"Good, I'm coming to get you"

"Is he…is he alright?" She asked shakily.

"He's with Skinner, they're heading to the safe house now"

"The parents…?"

"Both dead"

Scully's heart skipped a beat. She'd hoped they'd been able to evade this horror. Their son was in hiding, and no one knew where he'd been placed. He was a ghost. What had happened? How had things gone so far wrong?

"Scully, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you that Skinner knew where he was. I just, I couldn't bear the thought of never knowing. I needed someone to keep tabs on him…to make sure he was safe"

"What's done is done. Anyway, it looks like it could have very well saved his life…"

"Even so, I should have told you."

"Forget it, Mulder. Right now I only care about one thing, and that's getting our son to safety"

…..

They drove in near silence along the dirt track roads at night. Scully hadn't lived in that house for a couple of years now. It was Mulder's home. Hers was back at the Lady of Sorrows, where she'd dedicated her life to genealogy. It was a messy break, as they often are. His depression had consumed him, and she'd found herself incapable of helping him out of it, especially as she was desperately fighting her own demons.

"Can't you drive any faster?" She murmured.

"Scully, I'm pushing eighty"

She shuffled in her seat, edgy and eager to get there quickly.

"Don't worry, it's going to be fine. He's with Skinner. I can't imagine anyone he'd be safer with"

"I know, I know, Mulder, it's just… it's my child, my boy, whom I haven't seen in fifteen years. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel right now…"

"Our child, Scully. He's my son too. You're forgetting this is affecting the both of us here. We'll deal with this together" He squeezed her hand is assurance.

"We gave him up so he could be safe. How do we know he'll ever be safe again after this? He could be hurt; he could be dead by the time we get there. Whoever tried to get to him failed, but what's to say they're not going to try again?"

"Everything is going to be fine, Scully, I'm telling you, I've got a strong feeling that he's okay. We're less than six hours behind them. What could happen?"

The rain picked up as they drove ever closer towards their son and the home they'd once shared.

…..

The heavy gate was open when they pulled up to the driveway. Lights glowed through the side window of the living room. A dark red 4x4 was parked up outside, it came into view as they grew closer.

"Mulder, there, look" Scully pointed to the porch, just as a large man bombarded the front door down.

"Hurry!" She screamed, and Mulder slammed the breaks, skidding the tires in mud.

They simultaneously threw open the car doors and leapt from the vehicle in pursuit of the killer.

Time slowed down as they sprinted after the monster. As speedily as Scully ran, her legs could not carry her fast enough. She prayed they'd make it in time.

Mulder beat her to the doorway. From behind the looming figure she could see a terrified William suffocating at the bounty's brutal grasp. Before she had a chance to think, Mulder lunged for the figure, weapon in hand he plunged it into the false man's neck.

William fell to the ground with a thud were he lay motionless, the figure landing next to him, oozing its toxic blood.

A small boy appeared out of nowhere, running to William's side. Scully instinctively grabbed him, shielding his face. The toxins would quickly poison them; they had to leave immediately. The boy thrashed under her arms, fighting desperately against her. Where the hell was Skinner? He was supposed to be there with them.

She turned to Mulder, who was stood shakily over their son, at a complete loss for words.

"Mulder we have to leave, now" She could sense William trying to identify his bizarre rescuers, "It's not safe"

Scully lifted the child and turned to leave; whoever he was they could hardly leave him there alone. Mulder hoisted William up over his shoulder and preceded to fireman's carry him off the premises. The last time they'd seen their boy he was a baby, barely a year old. It was hard to imagine the teenager as their own flesh and blood.

Together they helped the boys into Mulder's car.

"Skinner?" Scully said, helping to lift a lifeless William into the back seat.

"I got it" Mulder shut the car door and sprinted off back to the house to find their ex-co-worker.

Scully clipped the small boy's seatbelt in securely. The boy stared at her constantly, cautiously apprehensive of these new people.

"What's your name?" Scully asked in as friendly voice as she could summon.

"Alexander" The boy whispered, "Is my brother going to be okay…?"

Scully raised an eyebrow. Brother? Of course, it wasn't exactly beyond the realms of possibility that Williams adopted parents would adopt another child.

"He's going to be just fine, Alexander, we're going to take good care of you both" She smiled, and he looked a little more reassured.

The back door swung open and Mulder heaved an unconscious Skinner inside, "Scully, I think you're going to be needed back here, he's hurt pretty bad…"

"What happened to him?"

"Gunshot wound, I think" Mulder climbed into the drivers side, quickly starting the engine. They didn't want to hang around long enough to find out who'd fired the shot.

Mulder's foot hit the accelerator and they reversed at high speed out of the driveway leaving a trail of dust kicked up with the gravel. Luckily he'd made a few phone calls on the journey up and things were just about planned enough to get them to the research base.

"What's the fastest way to the Powhatan air strip, Scully?" Mulder asked, and then proceeded to argue with her when she gave him her answer.

Scully set to work cleaning and redressing Skinner's wounds. He'd likely need surgery when they arrived at the base, at least they had the capabilities to do so now, only months beforehand had the location been desolate and uninhabitable.

"Who's the kid?" Mulder asked over his shoulder, eyeballing Alex as he sat patiently.

"Alex" She replied, tearing a bit of zinc oxide tape with her teeth and sticking it firmly to the gauze, "He's William's brother"

"How're you doing, buddy?"

Alex remained in silence. He'd talk to the lady but not this guy too; there were too many people and too much going on.

William stirred on the back seat.

"Is he alright?"

"He'll be okay, no signs of concussion, I think it was just a shock to the system. Looks like they've both been through a lot"

Hours later, just as dawn was breaking, the vehicle rolled onto a tiny airstrip. There were five ancient planes parked up on the runway looking very run down and out of action. A sixth was getting ready for flight. An elderly man with white hair and a baseball cap was loading up some cargo and filling the craft with fuel.

The car came to a stop, "Everyone alright back there?" Mulder asked, switching off the engine.

No one replied but Scully jumped out of the back seat to have a word with the pilot.

As the door slammed shut William jarred awake. He looked in confusion from Alex, to Skinner sprawled across the seats, back to Mulder.

"Who are you?" He asked hesitantly.

"My name is Fox Mulder"

"Where-?"

"At an airstrip in Powhatan. Your mo-, I mean Scully is just having a word with the pilot about Skinner, umm, Uncle Walter about whether he's good to fly with his gunshot wound"

There was a pause as William mulled over the new information.

"You boys okay? You've been through a lot in a very short amount of time"

William bit his lip, "Fine, we just, we want to get to this safe house, wherever it is… and then we need some answers"

Mulder nodded in agreement.

"I…I think I have your FBI badge" Will rummaged in his pocket, handing over the ID to the man, "You probably need that, right?"

Mulder took the badge smiling at the little memento. He hadn't seen it in too many years.

"See you got my knicks shirt too" Mulder gestured to a snoozing Alex.

"That was your home?"

"Yeah, that used to be the home I shared with Dana. Not so much anymore. I guess you could say it's been a bachelor pad for a couple of years now…"

William looked guilty, "Sorry… about you're window"

Scully tapped on the windscreen and gave her partner the thumbs up.

It was time to move.


	7. Chapter 7

The small propeller plane flew directly north over New York and all the way up and beyond Hudson's Bay. The journey took them over vast mountainous areas that William admired from the porthole window just as morning broke. Snow lay as a thick blanket over the mountaintops. It was easy to get lost amongst the clouds and peaks.

William was seated upfront with Alex sat beside him on the window side. His little brother could keep himself amused peering out into the scenery. Will took the isle seat to get a better view of whatever happened to be going on in the cockpit. Agent Mulder flicked between here and next to Agent Scully behind them both, apparently relaying messages.

When it seemed both agents had fallen asleep, leaning on one another, William took his chance to explore the craft they'd been shoehorned into. Unclipping the metal buckle he made his way to the cockpit. The plane really was a sight for sore eyes. The seats were shabby and worn and a thick layer of dust stuck to the carpet beneath them.

Will rescued his (or, apparently Mulder's) sweat pants from slipping down his legs again, and knotting the draw cord even tighter. The grey sweats were at least two sizes too big for him but they were certainly comfier than his sodden jeans had been.

"Excuse me, sir" William tapped the pilot on the shoulder.

The man jolted around in a way that made him suspicious the old man had been asleep whist they were airborne.

"Umm, I was just wondering how much further…"

"You bored, kid?" The man reached under his seat and pulled out a half torn magazine, "In-flight entertainment" He grunted, shoving it into Will's arms.

William examined the haggard copy of 'Iditarod Great's'.

"Take it or leave it, kid. Or I might have a 'Hustler' in here somewhere…"

"This is great… thanks" William forced an appreciative smile and took the hint to leave the man alone.

Will sunk back into his seat, rolling the magazine and stuffing it into the seat pocket in front of him. He let his head thump back against the headrest and sighed deeply. Despite being awake all night, Alex was now fast asleep leaning on the window and dribbling slightly.

Agent Mulder plonked himself into the chair opposite Will, letting his long legs stretch into the isle. The man yawned, scratching his head.

"Almost there now, just a couple more hours till we land" He assured.

"Where exactly are we going, we must be well over Canada now, there's not much further north to go…" Will pointed out. "When I asked Walter for answers, he said he didn't think he was the one to give them to me. Well who is the one? When are we going to know what the hell is going on?"

Mulder looked to be contemplating for a while, before leaning closer and lowering his tone,

"William, there are things that you will come to learn. It will be hard for you to understand, and even harder for me to try to explain"

"…Who are you people?"

"Ghosts, in a matter of speaking. Just like you should have been, only they found you, I'm not sure how, but they did, and now you cannot be safe living the life that we'd hoped for you"

William scrunched up his face in frustration. Was everyone trying to bullshit him? It was apparently too much to ask to get a straight and simple answer out of anyone. He was close to breaking point, but it was not as if he had a Plan B. He'd committed himself and Alex to this the moment they stepped foot on the aircraft.

Mulder detected his aggravation, "I know you want answers. I know nothing makes any sense at the moment, and your entire life has been taken away from you, but please, bear with us. You'll understand soon enough"

"I just need to know what my parents died for." Will put simply.

"You know, I lost a lot of people very close to me over the years for this cause… I guess, I just know the pain you must be going through right now, and I'm sorry for that"

The man looked solemn and depressed, as though he'd carried the weight of the world on his shoulders for too many years.

"Who have you lost?"

"My father, my friends, my sister…" He considered, "When I was your age, a couple of years younger, they took my little sister away from me. It's haunted me, every day for the rest of my life"

Will subconsciously squeezed Alex's hand, just to make sure he still had him. He remembered back to the young girl in the picture he'd found. Her smiling face, so care free and pure. His heart ached for this man.

"I'm sorry about your sister"

The plane hit turbulence and lurched forwards. From behind them, Agent Scully jerked awake and gripped the armrest tight.

"Sorry folks, we're just going through a little bumpy patch!" The old man yelled to his passengers.

William fastened a very flustered looking Alex's seat belt for him, just as the aircraft flattened out again.

"So, can you tell us where we are going?" Will posed the question one final time.

"An air base just north of Greenland, in between Barrow and Inuvik. It's a decommissioned military base, or at least it was until about eight months ago when we took it over"

"Took it over for what purpose?"

"Research primarily. We had a compound out in the desert in New Mexico, until quite recently when it got burned to the ground. We lost everything, all the work and progress we'd made, as well as a handful of brilliant scientists. So we moved it out here, kept everything very hush-hush and tightened tabs on security"

Scully released her seatbelt to go and check on Walter. Mulder's eyes followed her as she went.

"What exactly are they researching?" If it was something worth dying for, William wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"It's better if you see it. I doubt words could do it justice"

"And you, and uh, Agent Scully, what roles do you play in this?" He gestured towards the auburn haired woman. She'd made an effort specifically not to engage with the boys and Will was starting to feel uneasy about this.

"Our roles? We don't exactly have a job description. We move in and out of the programme when necessary, although I guess you could say we are responsible for initiating it and overseeing it"

"So you work for the government?" Will speculated.

Mulder shook his head, "Not exactly"

"But you're FBI?"

Mulder smiled. "That was a long time ago"

William looked puzzled.

"Dana is a doctor, a geneticist. She helps everyday people, but uses her resources in the field to do research for the project"

William could sense Scully listening in on their discussion. He couldn't help feel there was a lot of history between the two agents. Had they been together? It was tough to say for sure. Whatever their relationship, it was no ordinary one.

"Mulder" She called from the other end of the plane, "a word, please"

Agent Mulder rose from his seat, "Sit tight, not long now"

William watched as the man made his way to the back of the plane and Agent Scully. They appeared to be talking with Walter, but didn't seem to want the subject matter made public.

Out of the loop and stuck in the middle of 'private conversation' had become the story of Will's life.

It wasn't long before he found himself dozing next to Alex. The temperature was slowly dropping in the cabin the further they travelled towards the Arctic.

William woke to the plane jumping about again. A thick fleece blanket had been placed over both of the boys; it was unclear whom by.

The old pilot's croaky voice came over the speaker, "Alright folks, prepare for landing"


	8. Chapter 8

The landing was a bumpy one. The small plane bounced around as it hit air pocket after air pocket before finally making contact with the icy landing strip. The entire plane breathed a sigh of relief as the craft rolled to a stop and the main door was kicked open.

"Thanks, Jack, we owe you one" Mulder shook the pilot's grubby bear hands with a firm grip.

Agent Mulder debarked the plane first and waved down a few men huddled in blue Arctic gear awaiting their arrival. They sprung to action to help aid Skinner off of the plane and onto a metal-framed stretcher.

William hung back with his brother, unsure of where they were wanted. Now they were on the ground it had become very clear of the hostile environment they'd landed in. The plane swayed with the howling winds outside. It looked like a heavy blizzard was commencing out there. Through the porthole windows it was a canvas of white; beautifully patterned icicles had already started to form in the corners of the pane, creeping inwards.

"Boys, this way" Agent Scully gestured to them to follow her down the three-step stairs.

Much as William had imagined, the wind took their breath away completely. Dressed only in the clothes they had nicked from the house, they were totally inadequately dressed for the climate. Only when they were down the steps did they notice the large looming building ahead of them. Raised on stilts and multi-layered, the complex was a simple design but seemed to combine old and new. It had obviously had a lot of additional work done to it.

The snow swept sideways, blinding them from every direction.

"Follow us, please" One of the Arctic suited men yelled against the wind.

The men in blue helped lead the way, encouraging everyone to keep low and shelter from the brutal sub-zero weather. From behind them the sounds of the plane's propellers starting up echoed around them.

"Is it safe for him to continue flying?" Will asked loudly.

"The old man's used to this kind of weather, he thrives in it!" Another of the blue suited men assured.

Will clung to Alex's hand tightly, pulling him up every time his little legs wobbled in the snow. What was knee deep on them was almost up to Alex's waist.

As the three men ploughed ahead with the stretcher, Will struggled to keep up with his unsteady brother in tow.

The red headed Agent Scully noticed the boys fraught movements and took Will's hand whilst Mulder pulled Alex into his arms, carrying him the remainder of the way. Alex buried his face into the man's chest huddling from the chilly air.

When they were all safely inside the building, the large steal doors were pulled shut and locked secure with a leaver. All of a sudden the roaring wind ceased leaving them in a small, dimly lit room. The Arctic suited men stripped out of their extreme weather gear, hanging their belongings neatly on hooks in the drying room down the hall.

"Do you have your ID tag on you, Agent Mulder?"

"Sure, Danny" Mulder rolled up his sleeve to reveal a light blue banded ID bracelet.

The man scanned it with a handheld device and it bleeped green when run under the barcode.

"Get Mr Skinner here up to the Med block" One of the men ordered.

The team immediately set to work transferring him.

"Excellent. I'll show you folks up to the main deck, we'll get you looked at and into some warm clothes, and get your ID's sorted out"

Will ruffled his hair and watched as the snowflakes scattered in all directions. The bottoms of his grey sweats were soaked all around the ankles and had begun to tingle with the cold. He couldn't help his eyes follow Walter Skinner as he was evacuated to another block. Real uncle or not, he was concerned for the man.

"Don't worry, they'll take good care of him. They have some very talented doctors in this place" Mulder assured. "…You guys go ahead, I need to have a word with Doggett. I'll catch up with you a little later" He squeezed Scully's hand affectionately, and nodded to the boys, then followed the men up to the next floor.

Will and Alex sat on the freshly made beds of their designated room. It was basic. The walls were painted cream and had pipes running up and down them. There was a small sink but no toilet. Two tall lockers sat in the corner, left open with an 'essential kit' neatly packaged on the shelf, and a towel and an unopened toothbrush placed on top. On the shelf bellow laid some fresh clothes. Grey folded sheets were piled at the foot of the bed, ready for making.

Will poked his head out of the door. Not a soul in sight. He pulled it shut and locked it behind them. Alex folded his legs and crossed his arms around his pillow, sighing into it. Everything smelt of industrial cleaner, though it barely masked the smell of damp in the walls.

"We should get changed," William suggested, pulling the first pile off of the shelf and sizing them up.

The top was tiny against him.

"Here, I think these are yours" He said, tossing the garment to Alex, "Underwear" He picked up the tiny pair of boxers that had fallen onto the floor from the pile and flung those over too.

The second pile looked a better fit. Will wrestled the old hoodie over his head and replaced it with the crisp navy long-sleeved top. It felt new and unworn.

"Are we staying here long? Alex asked.

"No. Well, I don't know… we'll find out real soon"

It was very much a valid question. In truth, Will still had no real idea what they were doing there, no idea why their parents had been the target of murder, and no idea why everything was so hush-hush.

Music erupted from down the corridor, some sort of punk or rock band. It was enough to spark their interest. Only a few rooms down from them, a door was swung open, held with a fire extinguisher.

Will peered in cautiously. A teenage girl sat at her desk feverishly sketching away in a drawing pad. Music blared from an iPod dock plugged into the socket. Posters were hung on the wall, and some sketches in places too.

The girl looked up in surprise.

"Sorry, we just heard music, and…" He tried to explain.

"So you're their son. They said you would be coming"

Will paused in confusion.

"William, right?" She smiled.

"Will, yeah"

She offered a hand and they shook one another's, "I'm Rachel. Nice to meet you. I just got back off of duty"

The girl picked up her pencil and continued scribbling across the page.

"What is this place?" Will inquired.

"Home, for a few of us. The majority of people move in and out and only do a few month-long stints at a time. About thirty of us live on site long term. I've been here from day one"

"But why? Why, do you live out here in the middle of nowhere?" Will was perplexed by the idea.

"Work. My dad works in the tech department. I was living with my Mum back in Jersey until 'they' came…"

"They?"

"Men in black. They killed my mother. Tried to kill me too" The girl rolled up her top revealing and impressive scar running the length of her stomach, "They didn't do a very thorough job"

William winced at the sight. Images of his parents came involuntarily flooding back.

"Anyway, they thought it was safer for me to live here, after the whole ordeal…"

Will scratched his head, "I think that's why we've been bought here too. Although, trying to get a straight answer out of anyone in this place is a nightmare!"

"They like to keep there secrets, that's for sure" The girl nodded in agreement.

"What are they hiding? What are they working on here?"

"Pfft, you think they'd tell me that? To move around anywhere in this joint you have to have a wrist band, and all of the interesting places, the labs, the holding bays are all off limits"

"But both my parents had ordinary jobs, neither of them worked for anyone or anything like this place" William debated internally, "I would have know, they would have told me"

"Your adoptive parents? So that's were you were, with some kind of 'stand in' parents"

"Why are you acting as if you know me?"

"Everyone knows who you are here, or at least knows where you've come from" She said a matter-of-factly.

"Adoptive or not, my parents were everything to me" Will's voice rose involuntarily as he felt emotions well inside of him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive. It's just, I know your parents, so it's a little 'odd' for me to think of you with different ones, if you know what I mean"

"You know my real parents?" Will's heart stopped.

"Yes…" Realisation washed over her expression, "…and you don't. Shit. I've said too much"

"Rachel, you need to tell me. Who are they, do they work here?"

Agent Scully appeared at the door out of thin air. Sporting a woollen jumper and smart pants, her auburn hair had been combed and she looked a lot more human than when they'd departed the plane.

"Is everything alright in here?" She asked.

Rachel looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Everything's fine" Will managed, when it became apparent Rachel wasn't going to answer.

"Good. William, would you and Alex follow me upstairs. We want to talk with you both"

William nodded, "Sure" and nudged Alex ahead of him.

"Bye" He forced, out of politeness.

"See you round" Rachel called after them as they headed out into the hall.


	9. Chapter 9

Mulder paced the stairs of the Arctic base making his way up to the fourth floor. The metallic railing was worn, with multiple layers of paint chipped through to the surface. The entire structure creaked, echoing as he moved.

When he reached the main deck, he swiped his clearance one last time and watched as the door panel flashed blue and clicked unlocked before him. Inside, personnel moved about their every day occurrences, filing paperwork, tapping on keyboards, and observing monitors.

"Mulder!" Doggett embraced him with a firm handshake, "It's been a long time"

Mulder smiled, returning the gesture, "It's good to see you, Doggett. How're you holding out in this freezer box of a place?"

"I've been keeping busy"

"So I can see"

The building, as he'd last left it was a hollow nest of broken equipment and obscene structural damage. It was in need of an enormous amount of TLC, so the Russians had abandoned it rather than source the finances needed to restore it. Now, things were really starting to come together and it looked as if progress was fast moving.

"Doggett, this is incredible"

"Well, now it's a safe, usable space our people have been able to crack on with the real tricky stuff" Doggett elaborated, "I don't know where you found some of these scientists, Mulder, but hell, they sure know what they're doing. Some of the things I've seen are just beyond words"

"Actually, it was Scully who found the majority of experts. Skinner helped supply a lot of the engineers; ex-military personal, people he used to work with, all highly skilled professionals"

Doggett nodded in agreement.

"Come over here, there's something I wanna' show you" He lead Mulder eagerly to a computer monitor.

Typing a few access codes, Doggett logged into the system and brought up a page, and then with a flick of his wrist he sent the documents onto a large projector screen displayed above them.

The screen featured a map of the Northern seaboard, detailed and clear, but with a number of red markers.

Mulder studied the map, trying to reconstruct the pattern of lights; they appeared to be over both land and sea.

"What are the markers indicating?" He asked.

Doggett paused before answering, "Unidentified flying objects"

"That's impossible, the new ones have cloaking technology. How did you-?"

"I told you these scientists were good…" Doggett grinned, "We can track every single one of their crafts, monitor their patterns of behaviour. We've been able to keep tabs on them for a little over two weeks now"

Mulder folded his arms in wonder, "So, what are they doing?"

"Nothing, as far as we can tell. The majority of craft are hovering about fifty feet above the earth's surface; they appear to be waiting for something. The occasional craft will disappear off the map, and occasionally a new one will appear... They're here, for sure"

"There's so many of them…" Mulder trailed.

"Here's the catch. You know, and I know that we can't move forward with the project without alien DNA. After the devastation of the last base where we lost everything, our chances of getting our hands on any are slim in not impossible…"

"I sense there's a 'but' in there somewhere"

Doggett zoomed in on a small section of ice, "Watch right here" He pointed.

Mulder scrunched his eyes up, waiting in anticipation. Suddenly a faint red dot bleeped into view and disappeared just as quickly.

"What was that? A ship?"

Doggett nodded slowly, "We believe so, but the data indicates it's not fifty feet in the air at all, it reckons its buried under the ice"

"A fallen angel?"

"Yes, still operational, just damaged, that's why its signal is patchy"

"Mulder, this could be our chance…"

Doggett closed the system and moved away from the computer. The scientists didn't appear remotely fazed by the conversation.

"Scully will want to hear about this" Mulder pondered.

The two men left the bay, exiting with their clearance tags as the doors closed shut on the research and laboratory sector. They needed a little more privacy to review the recent discoveries, so headed for the lounge. It was empty inside, two large couches sat in the middle of the room and a small kitchenette area stood in the far corner.

"Take a seat, Mulder, can I get you a soda?"

Mulder flumped himself into the chair, "Please, thanks" Although he was hoping for something a little stronger after the long and eventful journey.

Doggett handed him a coke and perched on the kitchen unit snapping off the cap of his own and taking a long gulp. The air conditioning heating unit hummed in the background compensating for the lack of conversation. The men had known the invasion was a ticking time bomb; it had been since the apocalyptic date was set, but neither was prepared to deal with the veracity.

"So, you found your son…" Doggett instigated.

Mulder nodded.

"How's Scully holding up?"

"I, I honestly don't know, we haven't had the time to talk about it. I'm sure she's finding it tough…"

"Understandably" Doggett sympathised.

"It's been fifteen years…"

"How're you holding up yourself, Mulder?"

"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. He's my son and I don't know a thing about him. I've not been there, you know. I'm nothing to him but blood" Mulder couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with his comrade, "He doesn't know me, or his mother"

"You did tell him…" It wasn't a question, nor statement, "Mulder, he does know you're his parents, right?"

Mulder breathed out a long breath and covered his face with his hands. "No, William doesn't know we're his parents. We haven't told him. Not yet at least"

"…Mulder…"

"He'll find out soon enough" Mulder assured, "…he has a brother too"

"So I've been told"

Mulder took a long sip, "He had a family, a life, a normal and secure future, everything we wanted for him. Now it's all gone, blown apart in less than twenty four hours. My worst nightmares have coming true…"

Doggett threw his empty bottle into the trash, picking himself another off of the shelf.

"You know, I know it doesn't sound like much of a consolation, but everything happens for a reason"

The door lock flashed blue and clicked open as Scully, freshly changed and well manicured entered.


	10. Chapter 10

William followed Agent Scully up the staircase as he pondered the conversation with Rachel. She knew who his birth parents were, he wondered how many other residence of the arctic base also knew.

Scully's footsteps echoed against the concrete steps. William wondered about her story, where she'd come from and how she'd wound up in such a bizarre situation. An ex FBI agent turned geneticist now working for a covert project hidden in the Arctic. She seemed to have history with Agent Mulder, though Will could not decide upon the exact circumstances.

"You boys both okay, I know it's been a tough couple of days for you" She asked over her shoulder.

William cleared his throat, "We're okay, just ready for some answers now"

A twinge in his side caused Will shield his arm against himself. Ever since the security guard in the Hoover building had jumped him he'd felt the bruising coming out.

"Something bothering you?" Scully immediately reacted. There was no getting past this woman.

Will shook his head, "Just a bruise"

"I'll take a look at that after we've spoken to Doggett and Mulder"

"Really, it's not necessary" He dismissed.

He couldn't make her out. One minute the woman was cold and distant, and the next she was concerned, almost motheringly so. It was subtle, but he felt that she acted as though she already knew him. Then again, so did everyone in this joint.

Agent Scully scanned her wrist under a barcode reader, a light flashed blue and the door clicked unlocked revealing Mulder in mid conversation with another.

Alex lingered behind his brother, fiddling nervously with the corner of Will's shirt.

"Come on in" Scully herded them through the doorway as she held it open. "This is Doggett, who is the man in charge of this base. He's a good friend of ours from many years back. Doggett, this is William and his brother, Alex"

"Welcome boys, it's good to meet you" Doggett smiled offering a friendly handshake.

William accepted, the man's hand was a firm grip, and he held an edge of that of a military man, or perhaps he'd been in the FBI alongside the two agents. It made sense. His stance suggested he'd had much experience, the strong lines across his face of wrinkles before his time.

Alex recoiled at the man's introduction.

"Alex, be polite" William nudged his brother who reluctantly shook hands with the man.

Doggett offered them a seat, retrieving two Cokes from the refrigerator, "I'm sure you boys are tired and fed up of all this right now, but hopefully we can give you some answers"

'Finally', William thought, it was about time.

"Firstly, welcome to the base. As you've probably already discovered we have a lot of full time residence living on site. We also have people moving in and out regularly. Everyone does their part to keep this place functioning, and you too will have responsibilities in time and once you're settled. We keep quite a high standard of security in place, this is to protect are work and the people involved. Therefore you'll need these identification badges to enable you to move around the building"

Doggett revealed two wristbands from the worktop and handed them both across to Will.

"You'll have limited access for the time being. They'll get you into the residential areas of the base. You'll have access to all the facilities you'll need"

William examined the ID tags before pocketing them. He was eager for information and answers, of which he was still sure would be vague.

It was Scully's turn for some explaining, "Boys, you've been brought here because this is currently in the safest place for you to be right now"

Will took a swig of his drink and a deep breath. He'd been holding it back for a while now but it was getting harder to control, the frustration was building ever more.

"So you all work for the government, or at least used to. Why are we not being put into some witness protection program?" Will felt anger build within him, "Why are we out here in the middle of nowhere? Why were my parents targeted? They are good people, they've never done anything wrong, they didn't deserve this!"

The room fell silent and it was unclear as to who would be the one to answer.

"I'm tired of this bullshit, me and my brother deserve to know what happened to our parents..."

"Your parents weren't targeted, you were, they just got in the way" Mulder spoke with a complete deadpan expression, "These people are highly dangerous. We still don't know how you survived, why they gave up finding you when it would have been so easy for them to finish the job-"

"-Mulder, stop"

"Scully, he has a right to know the truth"

The two agents threw looks at one another.

"We owe him that much..." Mulder argued.

"Fine. Alex, why don't you come with me, we'll go get some snacks from the canteen" Agent Scully took his hand and Alex followed compliantly, leaving Will and the two men alone.

"...they were targeting...me..." The words escaped his mouth as realisation swept over him.

"Yes" Mulder confirmed.

"Why?"

"Because of what you are"

Will scrunched his face up in confusion, "What exactly am I?"

"Nothing, that's the point, it's just what they think you are, because of your background, because of the circumstances of your birth, because of where you've come from and how you came to be. We know you've no alien DNA because we tested you when you were just a baby-"

"Stop! This is too much. You expect me to believe all this?!"

"William, you asked for the truth and I'm giving it to you. Take it or leave it, but this is how it is, kid"

Out of the corner of his eye, Will could see Doggett shifting uncomfortably at the conversation he was no longer involved in.

"This is science fiction" William said a matter of factly.

Mulder smiled and shook his head.

"What?" William probed.

"You just, you reminded me of someone just then"

"Oh, you mean there are other people that don't believe this alien nonsense. Shocker there!"

Doggett stepped in, "Okay, let's all just have a cooling off period"

The air grew thicker in the small room with the heat of the moment.

"William, I know this is a lot to take in..."

"You just told me that my parents died for me, because of me. It's my fault..."

"Don't you ever think that."

"Did they know, when they adopted me, did they know I'd endanger them?"

"William, this wasn't supposed to happen. None of it. We still don't know how they found you. No one knew where you'd been placed, only Skinner"

"I want to talk to Walter, right now"

"Alright, you can do, soon as he gets out of surgery and the medics deem him fit to see visitors, okay?" Doggett attempted to keep the peace.

Will nodded, deciding it was as good as he could hope for.

The tension was begginIng to defuse.

"So, if what you're saying is true, that these people thought I had something special, something they wanted from my DNA, but that in actuality I don't have this at all, my parents died for nothing..."

"Not confirmatively. You were tested when you were a baby, not recently. We don't know if it's still the case now" Mulder explained.

"You mean I could have developed this DNA, this abnormality since childhood. How?"

"It's unlikely, but not impossible. There have been studies that have suggested the onset of puberty may trigger regressed genes to appear as the body moves out of adolescence"

"Is this something you could test?" Will asked apprehensively.

"Yes, it could be tested"

"Are you going to test me?"

"No. No, we wouldn't do anything without consent" Mulder assured.

Will ruffled his hair back out of his face, "I need to speak to Walter, before I go through with anything"

Mulder nodded in agreement, "Will, we wouldn't want you to rush into anything anyway. This is very early days for you and Alex. Please, just take some time to recover, begin to heal from all this trauma. You've been through a lot. Take it easy for the next few days. If you have questions, we'll answer them"

"Okay. Thank you, I think..."

Dogget interjected, "Look, dinner is served at six, why don't we go down and get a bite to eat. Skinner won't be able to see anyone until tomorrow earliest anyway"

William had put off thinking about it all day but his stomach was protesting with hunger. He wasn't about to argue with the suggestion.


	11. Chapter 11

The canteen was the largest of communal areas so far. It was very industrialised, everything shimmering in stainless steel. The setup was a bittersweet reminder of the school canteen he'd left behind along with his previous life. It would be Monday tomorrow and all hell would break loose when he nor Alex turned up at school. They'd likely alert the authorities and a search would begin, that was of course unless they'd already found the bodies of his dead parents. Will hoped that was the case, he hated to think of them lying there for three days unbeknown to the world.

William shovelled another forkful of mashed potato into his mouth, it was dry and tasteless. Freeze dried packeted food would make up the bulk of the everyday diet on base, or so Rachel had informed him.

He sat in between Rachel and his little brother on the 'kids table' trying not to make eye contact with anyone. The age range was pretty vast. Will suspected the oldest was seventeen, and the youngest, well, Alex. There was a red headed boy that must have been close to Alex's age, but that was it for the young ones. Not exactly a place to raise a family, Will thought to himself.

"I'm sick to death of mash potato, greens and goo" Rachel complained abandoning her cutlery in a sulk.

Alex pushed the food around his plate looking miserable.

"Eat, Alex, or you'll be hungry later" William warned.

"I only like the carrots..."

William sighed, scraping his portion of carrots onto his little brother's plate.

"You got your ID tags then" Rachel gestured to the wrist band on his arm.

"Congratulation, you're officially a zombie along with the rest of us"

Will snorted, "You really don't think very highly of this place do you?"

"When you've been here as long as I have you start to resent it a little, yeah"

Across the table, Will watched a girl flick a forkful of food at her friend and giggle.

"There's more kids here than I'd thought" Will observed.

"Yeah, well a lot of families bring there kids, you know"

Will caught a boy opposite him carefully carving a mountain out of his mash potato. The boy eyeballed him, grinned wickedly and started whistling spaceship sound effects. His friends beside him burst out laughing.

"Ignore them" Rachel said dragging him by the shoulder, "They're assholes"

...

Across the hall, Scully was keeping a watchful eye on her son, desperately trying not to make it too obvious. Her heart sank as she watched him looking out for his younger sibling, making sure he ate, making sure he was alright.

"You okay, Scully?" Mulder asked appearing out for nowhere and hovering over the table.

"Fine" She brushed off.

"Good, I'm heading up to HQ to crack on with some work, I'll catcha later"

"Mulder wait" She said, grabbing him before he darted off, "Have you even eaten yet?"

Mulder held out a handful of bread rolls and butter he'd stashed, "I'm good to go"

Scully rolled her eyes. Just like the good old days. Mulder would often go twenty four hours before eating when they were on a case. He'd forget to eat at all and then gorge himself a day later on everything and anything in sight. Usually clearing her out of the entire contents of her kitchen.

"Will you just sit down for two minutes" She said dragging him into the chair next to her.

Mulder looked rather put out before realising where Scully's attention was directed.

"How's he doing?" Mulder asked.

The parents overlooked as their son became the butt of the joke. The unruly teenagers laughing together at Will's misfortune. His head sinking as he tried to ignore them, as not to give them the satisfaction.

"I think they're giving him a bit of a hard time" Scully expression wasn't sure what to do with itself.

"He's alright, look" Mulder pointed out as the girl sat beside their son began talking with him, "See, he's got a friend who's got his back"

Mulder noted the smallest of smiles flash across Scully's face. A little too much like 'Spooky and Mrs Spooky' for his liking. It was a harsh reminder of the constant everyday torment at the bureau he'd endured. It never bothered him for a second because his partner in crime Scully was always by his side. He could sometimes sense the guys from Human Resources cursing him for the fact he got to spend all day with the beautiful female agent.

"He looks just like you" Scully whispered under her breath.

"Poor kid" Mulder joked, and got another faint smile in return.

"In all seriousness, I was thinking the same thing about you. He's certainly sceptically strong willed like his mother"

Together they watched as William cleared his and Alex's plates from the table and followed the girl out of the food court.

Scully sighed deeply, "How're we going to tell him, Mulder?"

"I don't-" His words trailed, unsure of the answer. "We'll know, when the time is right..."

He brushed a strand of hair from her face and planted a small kiss on her forehead, "I gotta go"

It was the closest they'd been since she left him, even now Scully wasn't sure how to feel about her partner. He was challenging in every respect, often impossible to deal with, but at the end of the day she loved him and he her. That for one, would never change.

...

It was night, though Will had no real concept of the time. He'd been asleep for a while, he knew that much. Rolling over he saw Alex curled in a ball, wrapped tight in his covers fast asleep. They were in complete darkness bar the gentle moonlight spilling in through the roof hatches.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor prompting him to dart upright in bed. As they grew closer, Will mustered enough courage to approach the door. His hand was barely on the handle before Rachel forced her way inside.

"Shh" She mouthed with a finger to her lips for emphasis.

"What do you mean 'shh', you were the one making all the noise!" Will argued, "What are you doing here?"

"Relax, I bought goodies" Rachel emptied her pockets. Candy bars, sweets, and her iPad spilled out onto his bed.

"What are you, ten?" William asked sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you're an ungrateful git" She said, re-stuffing her pockets.

"Wait, I'm sorry. We just have to be quiet okay, Alex is still asleep"

"Sure" Rachel agreed, pondering for a moment before asking, "How is it that you have a brother? I thought you were an only child"

"He's not by blood. My adoptive parents had him. They didn't think they could conceive. He was their little 'surprise', I guess"

"Ohh" Rachel climbed onto the bed and made herself at home, "So, what did they tell you in that little 'meeting' of yours earlier today?"

"Not much" Will snorted, "Other than my parents died because of me and I'm supposed to have some kind of alien DNA inside of me"

"No kidding" Rachel said, dumbstruck.

"You act like that's a normal thing to be told..." William probed.

"Yeah, well believe it or not, weirder stuff has happened around here"

"Right" Will expected as much.

Rachel tore open a candy bar with her teeth, tossing another to Will.

"So, what, you're like part alien then?" She asked between mouthfuls.

"They don't know for sure, they have to do some test, I don't know exactly"

Rachel rolled onto her stomach and flipped open the iPad, scrolling through the TV shows section of her videos.

"Rachel, the other day..."

"Mhmm"

"...you said you knew my parents-"

His words were interrupted by the blaring opening credits to 'The Walking Dead'. Rachel slammed her finger on the pause button, and they both froze in horror.

A door swung open from the other end of the hall.

"Shit, night duty. I gotta go" She whispered before shoving the iPad down her top and scrambling off the bed and out the door.

Will hoped she'd made it back before whomever it was outside caught up. Swiftly, he flung the sheets over the candy pile, hiding the evidence and burying his head in the pillow just in time for the door to burst open. The night duty guy had a quick glance in the room before closing the door and returning to bed. Alex hadn't moved a muscle. He admired his brother for being capable of sleeping through a jet landing.

William breathed a sigh of relief. He wriggled and pulled the tangled earphones from under his back where he'd been laying on them. The ones Rachel had failed to remember to insert. He grinned stupidly to himself. This girl was trouble with a capital R.


	12. Chapter 12

"You boys wanna help me with something this morning?" Doggett sauntered over to Will who was slumped lazily in the armchair of the communal room.

"Sure, what kinda thing?" Will responded, eagerly sitting up straight.

After a fairly uneventful breakfast, William was keen to get involved in any opportunity going. Too much spare time was dangerous; it was time to think, and right now all Will could think about was his parents and the life he'd left behind.

"Maintenance works in the loading bay outside the base, so we'll need to gear you up with Arctic suits"

The thought of getting out in the fresh air was a welcome one, despite the minus thirty temperature drop. A change of scenery was his primary concern.

"Rachel" Doggett addressed the girl sprawled carelessly on the coach opposite, "Your Dad is on call with me, would you like to join us?"

"Naa, I've got supplies cataloging to do today. You guys go ahead"

Less than an hour later, Will, Alex and three of the repairmen were suited and booted lingering by the large steel doors that separated them from the harsh Arctic elements. Alex's snow suit was a couple of sizes large so Will rolled the sleeves up for him.

"Room for one more?" Mulder asked, jumping the final step to the drying room to join them with one arm already in his thick Arctic jacket.

"Here we go" Rachel's Dad opened the heavy door with full force.

It was a totally different environment to the last time they'd stepped outside. The morning was calm and still, crisp and refreshing. The landscape went on forever, a blanket sheet of white as far as the eye could see.

The final man out heaved the door closed, locking the leaver in place behind them. They were in total silence, no humming from the pipeworks or echoing steps as inhabitants paced the corridors above, just blissful nothingness.

Will took a moment to absorb the emptiness of the scene. It was the most alone he'd felt in his entire life. He'd always known the world was a big place, but as they stood there lost in a sea of white, Will felt all the more insignificant.

They set to work repairing part of the loading bay. Will was mainly running and passing equipment where necessary. Alex, more just enjoying the ride.

Will noticed the conversations between Mulder and Doggett taking place. Though he struggled to overhear the subject of conversation it was clear there was something going on behind the scenes. Something that was for their ears only, not to concern any of the other residents.

"You boys okay here for a little while?" Mulder checked. He and Doggett looked ready to disappear off.

"Actually, we're not far off done, there's not too much more help for you boys here if you fancy a walk?" Rachel's father suggested.

"Right" Doggett nodded, "Let's go"

William followed Mulder and Doggett briskly with Alex at his heel, "Umm, where exactly are we going? Back to the base?"

"Not yet, we're heading to the outposts, just to do a quick perimeter sweep and check the radio masts" Doggett explained.

After fifteen tiresome minutes of falling through holes in the snow, picking themselves up, and falling back in again, they reached the first mast. A tall looming post stood firmly in the ground covered in a shimmer of ice.

"This is the perimeter of the base?" Will asked.

"Mhmm, that's right"

"There's no fences..."

"Nope"

"Why not?"

"Because no fences would stop the kind of things we'd be looking to keep out." Doggett spoke bluntly as he began fiddling with some monitoring equipment.

There was no further explanation, but Will sensed the shiver running up his spine. Then what were they trying to keep out?

Mulder ambled away from them, transfixed on the emptiness ahead. Doggett was busy showing Alex how the monitoring equipment worked, so Will followed him. Approaching slowly, Will noted the rather vacant expression worn by Agent Mulder. His body still, but his pupils scanning the horizon. He looked to be deep in thought.

William quietly stood beside him, not wishing to interrupt his tranquility, but only to appreciate it with him.

"This place..." Mulder began, "...it's like living on another planet. So vastly different then anywhere else in this world"

"...it is pretty breathtaking" Will agreed.

The sun was beginning to set in the sky; the heat cast over them taking the edge off of the bitter air.

"We're all good here, lets pack it up and head back to base" Doggett called over.

Before they set off, Will argued Alex into a woolly hat. The sun was setting fast and with it the remaining heat source for them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Will observed Doggett checking on his friend. With a hushed voice he asked Mulder if he was alright. Will listened closer.

"Can you hear them?" Doggett asked under his breath.

"Barely..." Mulder answered, without diverting his focus, "Let's go"

Back at the base they stripped off their suits and changed back into comfortable sweats and tees. The powdered snow they'd trailed in left patches of white on the floor that resembled a flour spillage. It was satisfying to watch it shrink and melt in a matter of minutes.

Thundering footsteps down the staircase revealed Rachel looking carefree as ever.

"Oh, cool you guys are back" She smiled.

Will struggled to free one arm from the deathlock grip of the Arctic suit's sleeve.

"Help me out, will ya?" Will thrust the sleeve in her direction.

"So, Agent Scully told me to tell Mulder to tell you..." She began, scrunching her face as she tried to remember, "...that your uncle is awake"

"Walter is awake" Will repeated, shoving his damp boots on a shelf and making a beeline for the stairs.

...

William scanned his badge as far as it would let him get inside the medical centre before getting stopped by personnel.

"I was told that my uncle is awake, I'd like to talk with him please"

The doctor led him through some double doors towards a single bed. In it lay Walter Skinner looking battered and bruised but luckily alive.

"Ten minutes, and then that's enough for one day" The doctor allowed before leaving them in peace.

William stood over the bed following the tubes and IV lines that connected up to his uncle, or at least, once upon a time uncle.

"You're awake" Will spoke, not entirely sure where he was going with the conversation.

"Looks like it..." The man responded weakly.

"I umm, I wanted to thank you, for what you did for us. If you hadn't helped me and my brother the other day, we'd probably be dead"

"Don't mention it. I'm a small piece in a much larger picture of people that are dedicated to protecting you. I merely played my part. I'm just sorry it didn't quite go to plan"

"You're not my real uncle, we're not related in any way yet you risked your life for me and Alex"

"And I will continue to do so" Walter said matter of factly.

Will changed the subject, "You knew about this place, this research station?"

"I knew of it, but this is my first time spent here"

William studied the bandages holding Walter's chest together and remembered in gorey detail as the bullet punctured his body.

"How come you didn't tell me from the start? When I first came to you back in DC?"

"There were a lot of things I should have told you, but again, it was a situation we'd not prepared for, no one expected this to happen, you were supposed to be untraceable. I was going to tell you about the safe house, about your parents. Heck, I even picked up their FBI badges to show you..."

'My parents FBI badges'. All of the life drained from William's body at once, he stumbled backwards almost tripping over his own feet as the realisation swept over him.

Walter's voice trailed in the distance as his words became muffled and replaced with a deafening ring.

'Parents FBI badges' he repeated once more in his mind.

"...I must have lost them..." Walters words dissipated with the ringing, "William...are you okay?" His eyes reflecting concern.

In a matter of seconds Will was overcome with dismay, confusion and anger all at once. He backed away slowly from Walter's bed as the man sat upright looking concerned.

William sprinted down the corridor, slamming his ID bracelet on each access panel as he went. His heart felt like it was about to escape from his chest, his limbs working in autopilot to get him to an undetermined location.

He rounded the corner and without warning Rachel opened her bedroom door and collided into him with a loud crash. The two of them fell in a heap on the floor, Rachel rubbing her forehead profusely.

"What the hell, Will?!" She yelled picking herself up.

"You knew this whole time!" He rounded on her.

Rachel stared at him as though he were a crazy person, "What?"

He ignored her, he didn't want to engage in that conversation. Besides, the whole residential population of the base knew about this yet no one decided to discuss it with him.

"Where are you going?" Rachel called after him as he stormed off down the hall.

He reached the main research block and scanned his ID twice watching it flash red and decline each time. He didn't have access, he wasn't supposed to be there and he knew it.

"Can I help you?" A women opened the door politely from the other side.

William pushed straight past catching her off guard, "You can't be in here" She called after him but he didn't stop moving.

He scanned the multi layered office searching for the man among heads. Sizing up a projector and talking to Doggett stood Agent Mulder analysing something on the screen.

"William, what are you doing in here?" Mulder asked as he appeared before him.

For a moment William stood there shaking. It didn't take long for the overwhelming emotions to take control. He pushed the man hard right in the chest. It surprised Will just as much as it did Mulder.

He did it again, harder and with more anger behind it. "You" Push, "Complete" Push, "Asshole!"

Each time they moved backwards together until finally Mulder grabbed his wrists to stop him.

"Calm down, what the hell's the matter with you?" Mulder spoke calmly, aware of the onlookers subtly watching the dramatic scene.

"When were you planning on telling me?!"

Will's eyes were fierce. He felt betrayed, belittled and overlooked. He was annoyed just as much by his own stupidity, he should have known, the more he considered it, the more it seemed blatantly obvious.

"Not here" Mulder lowered his voice, "Come on"

Doggett was staring open mouthed at both of them. Mulder grabbed his sons shoulders leading him calmly outside. Will contemplated putting up another fight but couldn't muster the energy to do so.


	13. Chapter 13

Rather ironically, it was the busiest that Will had seen the base. People were walking around all over the place, down corridors and congregating in the communal areas.

"Follow me" Will turned on his heel and made for his bedroom, not concerned about waiting up for the man caught in the crowds behind him.

Will threw open the door causing his little brother to jump at the noise, "Get out, Alex!" He warned with a little more harshness than he'd intended.

"Why?"

"Because I said so"

"But I'm reading..."

"Will you just go and play with Rachel for a while... _please_?"

Alex made a face before abandoning his book on the bed and exiting without further complaint.

"Thank you" Will called after him, feeling guilty for his bitter dismissal of his poor brother. He'd apologise later, right now there were more pressing issues.

Mulder caught up to him, closing the door behind them both for a little privacy. He stood awkwardly in the door frame. There was an elephant in the room so large it could burst through the air ventilation system. Mulder ran his fingers through his hair and scratched his head.

"How'd you find out...?" He asked cautiously.

"Does it matter?" Will spat, "...Walter... he didn't tell me on purpose, I figured it out for myself"

Will paced the room while the man before him remained glued to the spot, "Were you ever planning on telling me?"

"Of course we were..."

"Why didn't you tell me from the start? Why'd you keep me in the dark like this?"

"Maybe we should sit down?" Mulder suggested.

"No, I'm just fine standing, thanks" Will spoke with bitterness.

"Fine"

"Well?"

"I don't have a worthy answer. Honestly, I was scared, scared of what you'd think of me. I didn't even know where to begin explaining"

"Sounds like a bullshit, cop-out answer to me"

Will gave in and sat on the bed. Mulder eyes looked to be in agreement with the statement, guilty as charged.

"...and Agent Scully, she's my biological mother?"

"No one suffered like your mother did from this..."

"She didn't seem to have too hard of a time deciding to give me up. You didn't even wait till I was a year old!"

"Your mom made a choice, the hardest of choices a mother can have to make. She gave you up so that you could be safe, so that you could have a life, a future. She made the ultimate sacrifice for you. You can hate me but please, don't hate her for the decision she made to protect you. It's haunted her every damn day since"

William turned his back on the man in frustration.

"You think that we forgot about you, moved on..." Mulder shook his head, "You couldn't be more wrong. We thought about you all the time, every day. We still do..."

William rose from the edge of the bed, "Just empty words"

He wasn't about to buy into this sop story, the bottom line was that they abandoned him. He wasn't ready to start playing 'happy families' with these people.

Hand on the door knob, Will was preparing to remove himself from the conversation altogether.

"...You were a baby, less than a year old. Your mom, Dana was so tired, so I thought I'd take over for a little while..." Mulder began, the words transiting from memories he clearly held dear to his heart, "...So I picked you up, carried you downstairs. You were crying and I couldn't get you to stop, I didn't know what to do. I'd never dealt with, let alone been responsible for a child before. I guess I wasn't ready to be a father, it was a big learning curve..."

William paused listening, the guy wasn't making it sound any better.

"...I carried you around for a while, rocking you, talking to you, but I could get you to calm down. I remember you were wearing Loony Tunes...a Martin the Martian onesy, I think it was a present from Walter" He smirked at the memory, "...anyways, in desperation I stuck on the CD player, turning it right down so as not to wake your Mom. First album that came on was Oasis. And so we listened to 'Wonderwall' together, or at least I did, you were still screaming your little head off. It was only when I started singing the words to you that you calmed down. I didn't know the lyrics but you seemed to like the sound of my voice..."

William heart began to wretch as he watched in silence as the man before him fought back tears in his eyes.

"...and then the most amazing thing happened. You looked up at me and you smiled. It was so simple yet so beautiful. Your little face lit up and you smiled at your old man's god awful rendition of 'Wonderwall'. I knew then in that moment that I was your Dad and you my son, and that I'd do everything in my power to make sure that you were safe and protected, and happy"

William felt tears well in his eyes. He refused to be seen to be crying but the weeks worth of emotions were becoming powerfully all consuming.

"William, I'm not expecting this to be easy for you, because it sure as hell isn't easy for me, or your Mom. I'm not asking you to forgive me or pretend like everything is all okay, because I know that it's not, we've missed every year of our lives together so far. I'm not trying to replace the parents that raised you. But if you'll let me, I want to do my damn best to try and make up for the time I didn't get to spend with you"

William was in limbo, fighting between resilience and acceptance. For his own self-preservation's sake he was wary of the latter. He searched for words but found few to structure into any coherent response.

"...Was I an accident? ...Unplanned?"

"You were a miracle" Mulder explained, "Your mother was barren, the doctors said there was zero chance of conception..."

"So, what, I was some test tube baby?"

"No" Mulder awkwardly scratched his day old stubble, "No, you were made the good old fashioned way..."

Will moved about the room in autopilot, "I have questions..."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't"

"...but I think I need time. I want to speak to her, but not right now"

Mulder nodded in understanding, "It's okay, take as much time as you need. We'll be here when you're ready to talk"

"I think...I think I'd like to be alone for a while"

Mulder took the hint and made for the door, "Sure, I understand".

The lock clicked in place and he was gone just like that leaving William alone with his thoughts. For years Will had questioned his adoptive parents about his origins and they'd never had the information to give him. He'd been wiped from the system, nothing but a forename to carry with him. After all the years of curiosity, now that the answers were readily available, Will wasn't sure he could handle them.


	14. Chapter 14

"I guess I have to apologies to the both of you" Will stood awkwardly in the doorway to Rachel's room. She and Alex were sat cross legged on her bed glued to her iPad screen.

She clicked pause on the device and the Star Wars theme tune stopped abruptly.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper, you didn't deserve that, Alex"

Alex shrugged his shoulders, "You can make it up to me by playing Uno with me"

Will smiled; that was his little brother through and through.

"And I'm sorry I was so dismissive" He addressed Rachel this time.

"It's fine. Come sit with us" She patted beside her on the bed, "Alex, why don't you go grab those Uno cards?"

Alex looked thrilled as he darted out of the room in search of the card game, he'd been eager to play since they'd arrived on base.

"So, you found out about your parents then?" Rachel began.

"Yeah" Will confirmed; the bed springs creaking as he sunk beside her, "I'm so stupid. I should have known, it was so blatantly obvious from the start..."

"What did your Dad say? I assume that's where you were heading, to find him and talk with him?"

"He said he was sorry they weren't straight with me from the start, but that it was complicated. They had to give me up to protect me"

Rachel nodded, "That's how I heard it, from the rumours at least"

"Doesn't make it any easier though... I still feel lost..."

"Rarely now are family units as simple as they're made out to be. You should be thankful you had a caring adoptive family that raised you with love, and now in losing them you've gained another set of parents that love you with equal devotion. The pain will always be there for the loss, but don't put up walls to try to protect yourself, Will. Mulder and Scully are trying to make a mends with you, maybe you should let them..."

It was a different side to Rachel that Will had never witnessed before now. He hated to admit it but she spoke a lot of sense.

"Maybe you're right..." Will supposed.

"I'm rarely wrong" She grinned.

William smirked, he was glad that amongst the midst of this icebox crazy land, he had a batshit crazy friend to keep him sane.

She leant closer to him and before he had a chance to figure out what was happening Rachel planted a soft kiss on his lips. He became lost in the moment, transfixed on the sensation of her skin meeting his.

As quickly as she'd instigated, Rachel pulled away, returning her focus to the iPad screen.

William was taken aback, frozen with surprise. Of course, Rachel being Rachel acted as though nothing had happened. She'd never mention it again, but rather smile coyly to herself knowing the power she had over him.

It probably didn't mean anything, there was no point in trying to read into it. A gesture from one friend to another in a moment of high emotions, Will tried to convince himself. Besides, Alex had returned beaming with his cards.

...

Scully carefully categorised the notes that were currently decorating the entirety of her bed. She had a system for everything, she lived her life by systems, it was what kept her life organised, and it was another reason why living with Mulder had been an ongoing battle. There were only so many arguments to be had about clothes abandoned _by_ the hamper rather than _in_ it before she'd lost the will to live.

Just as the memory had crossed her mind, the man in question opened her door.

"Ever heard of knocking, Mulder?" She asked with an air of annoyance.

They'd not shared a room because they were no longer together and so it seemed appropriate. Besides, the rooms were barely geared up to allow one inhabitant to move around, two would be a squeeze, she'd decided. And so Mulder resided in the room down the far end of the hall, alone and with his thoughts.

"Everything alright?" She asked when he entered without a word, "What's wrong?"

"He knows" Mulder breathed, before sinking onto the bed, creasing her pile of papers.

She'd have given him a right telling off had the situation not been as it was.

"Oh" Was as much as she could fathom, "You talked to him?"

Mulder nodded.

"What did you say?"

"Not much, it was a very brief discussion... I said we were here if he wanted to talk"

Mulder sprawled backwards until he was laying watching the ceiling blankly. The rest of her neatly hand written notes were done for, so she gave in and joined him.

Her exhale caught in her throat, "Does he hate us?"

Mulder wrapped her in his arms and they lay together in one another's embrace, enjoying the rare moment of closeness. Mulder became lost in her familiar smell, her faint perfume and a subtle hint of coffee beans that reminded him of home. Dana Scully did enjoy her coffee in the mornings.

"I should talk to him..." She breathed into his t-shirt, hoping that her tears wouldn't show against the grey fabric.

...

William watched the shadows of light dance about the room above him. Sleep was proving futile for the second night running, instead he listened to Alex moving about in his sleep.

It didn't take long before his little brother tiptoed out of bed and crawled in beside him, curling up under the covers.

"You can't sleep either, huh?" He asked, tucking his brother in. The beds were tiny for one so two was defiantly pushing it, but it didn't bother Will.

"Are you sad?" Alex whispered.

"No, why...what do you mean?" He was caught off guard.

"You just don't seem happy"

"I'm fine, Alex, I appreciate the concern, but I'm okay"

Alex yawned loudly, "Do you miss Mom and Dad?"

"Yes, I miss them...do you?"

"Yes"

William had been desperately trying to avoid the thought. What with the revolution of his biological parents it made him feel all the more guilty about betraying the people who'd raised him.

"Get some sleep, Alex, it'll be morning soon"

"I love you, Will"

"Love you too, Alex"

William welcomed any distraction from the plaguing angst that riddled his conscience. He chose to replay the eventful card game between the three of them that afternoon. It allowed for a moment of fun in which Will could be a kid again, without all the worries of the world. He couldn't help himself imagining the kiss, the innocent and playful kiss Rachel had planted on his lips. He replayed it over and over, refocusing on the uplifting and carefree connotations it held. These were his lingering memories before he drifted into slumber.


	15. Chapter 15

Mulder stood in the communal shower block, his head stretched back as he basked in the heated water. It was one of the rare occasions he'd got in there early before everyone else had used up all the water.

The rusted tap creaked as he turned it off, grabbing his towel that hung over the top of the door. He gave his messy hair a quick towelling down before swinging the half frame door open.

"William" He said in surprise as he almost walked straight into his son, "Jesus, you scared me"

"Sorry, Doggett said you were likely in here"

Mulder considered himself lucky he'd bothered to wrap a towel around his waist on this occasion.

"What's up?" He asked, wondering what was so important it couldn't wait until he were dressed.

"I was hoping we could talk..."

Mulder caught his son looking in horror at the scars across the front of his chest, and suddenly felt incredibly self conscious.

"Sure, hang on just a sec" He quickly grabbed the shirt from his abandoned pile of clothes on the bench and threw it over his head.

William looked away, realising how obvious his staring must have been.

"Why don't we talk in the canteen, it'll be empty till later?" Mulder suggested.

Mulder was right, the canteen was indeed vacant. Their footsteps even echoed as they found an empty table tucked away in the corner.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Mulder asked, swinging a leg over the bench and rolling up his sleeves, with ears open for the questions to come.

"Aliens" William summed up in a word.

"Okay...what about them?"

"Everyone here knows that's what is being researched. From what I gather, people either believe it or they don't, but the topic is rarely discussed between residents. In case you didn't realise, back in the normal world, aliens aren't something found in everyday life. They're science fiction. The only mention of them comes in the form of comic books and crazy folk claiming abduction cases..."

"Go on" Mulder encouraged, unsure of where this was heading.

"So, forgive me if I'm not so 'open' to the idea of little green men..."

"William, I'm not expecting you to believe blindly. Your truths are bound by the society in which you grew, mine derive from a lifetime of studying them, chasing them. I've seen things, and my eyes have been opened to extreme possibility because of this"

"Right, I just need to know, I needed to ask you, how it is that you came to believe and why you're so certain that these 'aliens' do indeed exist in our world..."

Mulder shuffled in his seat unsure as to how far to go with this. He felt sucked back into the old days, sat behind a desk trying desperately and also rather futilely to explain a whacky theory to Scully. As William stared back at him, he saw her eyes through his.

"I told you before, back on the plane about my sister. It destroyed my childhood, tore my family apart. It fuelled my career choices to pursue investigations into the paranormal sciences. Your mother, Dana..." Mulder swallowed his words hating to drag up harsh memories, "...she was taken when we were still in the early days of opening upon the X-files division...it's what left her barren"

"Taken by aliens?"

"Taken by men. Men part of a larger conspiracy setting out to work alongside the alien colonists"

Williams face scrunched up as he mulled over the new information, "...so if she was barren, how is it that I came to be?"

Mulder cleared his throat, "That's the question we've been pondering for fifteen years. We tried IVF treatment but if failed..."

William folded his arms underneath him, propping his head up "So, you've seen aliens, I mean you've seen them in the flesh?"

"Up close and personal"

"What was is like?"

"I don't remember much, they're pretty good at shielding your memories from you, they do their best to make you forget...but there's some memories that they can't remove..." Mulder explained, he couldn't make eye contact with his son relieving this, just in the same way he'd always struggled to talk about his abduction experiences with Scully.

"The scars..." William began, "...are they-"

Mulder nodded, "They're pretty brutal, with whatever it is they do to you. Almost killed me, in fact it did for a while"

William was getting more confused by the minute.

"...but your Mom, she bought me back from the brink, she saved me, like she always has done"

"You guys have been through a lot then. You must have been really close"

"We were- are still, we've been through more than most. We have a tremendous amount of respect for one another"

"Do you love her?"

"Of course. I'll always love her"

"And she loves you?"

"I think so, but it's complicated...the X-files caused a lot of heart ache between us. My own abduction was just as she fell pregnant with you and because of that I wasn't there for her like I wanted to be. Even when I was returned I couldn't deal with things as I'd been able to in the past, it affected me, more than I ever imagined it could"

Mulder hated to admit his failures not only as a father but as a partner to Scully as well, but he had to be straight with his son, he owed him that much.

"...I never told Scully about what happened to me whilst I was away. She knew medically, because she was my doctor, but the mental scars it caused she knows very little of..."

"Why?" William asked,

"It wasn't the most pleasant of experiences...and she'd already gone through her own abduction, there was no point in dredging that back up. And she had you to worry about, I didn't want to distract her from you" He smiled, asking merely through expression that William not go down that road, "Besides, I'm sure she had a pretty good idea of what happened to me, having gone through it herself..."

William looked to be holding back a question, perhaps he was unsure of how to ask it, or maybe he just wasn't ready to hear it's answer.

"So..." William began, "...are we in danger, from these aliens"

"We wouldn't be researching a cure and preparing for an invasion if we weren't" Mulder worried he'd not put the words more carefully together, but it was the harsh honest truth.

"Test me"

"What?" Mulder was caught off guard.

"Test me for this alien DNA you said I was supposed to have when I was a baby. If you find it in me it could help the project move forward, right?"

"Yeah, that's right"

"Then test me for it" Will rolled up his sleeve holding his arm out to Mulder.

"I can't do it, I'm not a doctor... Scully will have to-"

"Okay, then arrange for her to do it" William suggested, "I want to help, wherever I can..."

...

The medical room was small, considering it was one of only three bays serving the hundreds of residents on the base William wondered how they managed to fit more than two doctors inside each. God forbid there was an influenza outbreak, they'd be in real trouble.

William explored the room, touching the strange medical equipment and trying to block out the strong stench of bleach.

Agent Scully made her way inside, closing the door firmly behind her. She carried a little metallic tray with some items laid out neatly on it. She placed the tray on the small table beside the bed without a word.

"Did he tell you?" William broke the silence, "...that I know"

"He told me" Scully spoke quietly.

"You're my Mom...my biological mother"

"That's right..." She breathed, gesturing him to hop up on the gurney, "I was your Mom, once upon a time, William"

"He, Mulder, explained to me about what happened, why you had to give me up" Will continued, following her instructions and climbing onto the hospital bed.

"Roll up your sleeve, I'm just going to take a little blood"

William complied, watching her draw a syringe full of blood from his arm. He winced at the sensation. She wouldn't make eye contact with him, he knew she was ashamed. Scully sealed the sample of his blood and peeled back her latex gloves, tossing them in with the biohazard labelled trash.

"...Mom" William couldn't help himself, he placed his hands on hers, praying she'd stop for just one moment and talk to him.

It worked, as she froze, it was the first time anyone had addressed her in that way. She was a mother that had never heard her name spoken by her son, until now.

She fought back the emotion, desperate not to break, but it was too late for that, "I wished every day that it could be different..." She sniffed as his hands encased hers.

"Mom...it's okay"

"...I never thought I'd get to see you again..."

William threw his arms around her, pulling her in tight to him. She didn't hug him back, she couldn't. She was a broken and beaten women with fifteen years worth of grief resting on her shoulders. He didn't push her and she didn't say anything more. Neither of them needed to. The frustration and the hate dissipated from Williams bones as it became just how apparent his absence had affected this woman's life.

The door flung open causing the both of them to jump apart.

"Agent Scully!" A man was stood in the doorframe looking distraught, "You better come upstairs"

Scully wiped her tears into her sleeve, "I'll be right up"

The man didn't look remotely bothered by the fact he'd interrupted their tender moment. Whatever it was that Scully was needed for it must have been important.

"How long will the test take?" William asked, hoping changing the subject would ease the awkwardness.

"We should know in under twenty four hours" She said matter of factly, "...I umm, I should go check what they want"

"Yeah" William agreed.

She smiled at her son, silently letting him know how grateful she was for his sensitive understanding. Pocketing the blood sample, she left following behind the man.

William wriggled off of the bed, proud of how he'd dealt with the situation. Rachel was indeed right, it was up to him to take the higher ground on this. It was the right thing to do.

He was about to leave the medical bay when another three people ran past the room all heading upstairs. It must have been bad whatever was happening. Two more caught one another in the corridor outside.

"Did you hear the news?" One man spoke to his co-worker.

William instinctively ducked out of view, eavesdropping the conversation.

"It's happening, people are getting sick across the world, just like they predicted...they're getting reports of it coming in now"

"So, what are we going to do? We're still so far away from developing a vaccine?"

"I've heard rumours that Doggett and Mulder have a plan. That blip that kept coming up on the monitors, that fallen angel, I think they think it's salvageable"

"You mean there could be a trace of alien DNA on board?"

"I'm certain that's what they're anticipating"

The men continued walking until they were out of audible distance. William peaked from his hiding spot. He had to find Rachel, she'd have more answers or at least know what the reproductions would be.


	16. Chapter 16

William navigated the long corridors dodging the frantic residents that were being called to meeting upstairs.

"Rachel, open up" He yelled, knocking loudly on her door.

She answered quickly, dragging him by his drawstring hoodie inside and slamming the door behind him.

"I have something to tell you" He panted trying to catch his breath after she'd nearly strangled him.

"Me too. You go first"

"Agent Scully just got called up for an important meeting, I think that's where all the other folk are heading too. I overheard some workers talking, they said that people are getting sick all across the globe. I think it's the contagion that they're trying to build a vaccine for"

Rachel skidded her office chair across the room, grabbing the laptop and returning back to Will. She thrust the screen in his direction revealing an online news article she'd been studying.

"I found this, before they blocked the Internet access"

The headline read 'Mysterious illness sweeps across town in Pennsylvania'.

"They had more cases appearing in neighbouring towns" Rachel expanded.

"Shit" William whispered, his breath catching in his throat, "This is really happening..."

"What are they going to do, they don't have the vaccine finished yet?" Rachel pondered out loud.

"The men, they said that Doggett and Mulder might have a plan. Something about a 'Fallen Angel'...what is that?"

"A fallen angel is a downed UFO"

"Right...so there's a crashed spaceship near us that may hold the cure, or at least the resources they need to develop one"

Rachel made a noise resembling excitement and astonishment, "I know where it is"

"What?"

"The fallen angel, I know where it is"

Before William had a chance to question her on it, Rachel spun back to her laptop bringing up a new page and adding some account details. It certainly didn't look like something she would have clearance for accessing. No doubt she'd nicked the log in from someone.

"What are you doing?" William asked cautiously.

"It's here" She tossed the laptop onto his lap, "The little red blip in the middle, that's where the UFO is"

The screen displayed a detailed map of the arctic ice sheet around them. Sure enough a small red dot flashed in and out of view in the middle of the map.

"Rachel...how did you-?"

"My father was the first to discover it, of course it didn't mean anything until they realised what it was, then it all became very hush hush"

"How'd you access this information?" William muttered. She never ceased to surprise him.

"I used my Dad's log in to access the system"

"Does he know you have that?!"

"Pfft, of course not. He's just careless with how he handles his passwords. It's not like I use it lots, I just occasionally peak around at what he's up to, you know..."

William shook his head slowly in disbelief.

"We should go find it and salvage the DNA, right now" She announced, snapping the laptop closed.

"Are you insane?!" He didn't need her to answer that, he already knew she was, "Defiantly not, we should leave it up to them upstairs, they'll know what to do"

"William, they've had this information for weeks and they've still not done anything about it. I don't know about you but I have friends back home where I'm from, friends that I don't want to see die because of this. If I can do something to help them, I'm damn well going to"

It hit William hard. For the first time since arriving at the base, William thought about his school friends, the people and the world he'd left behind.

"Please, just let me talk to Mulder and Scully, I really don't think this is something we should rush into blindly without knowing all the facts. Promise me you won't do anything stupid?" He pleaded with her, desperately trying to convince her out of her decision.

She rolled her eyes.

"Rachel, you have to swear to me"

"Fine, Will, I won't do anything" She said in defeat, raising her hand to show scouts honour.

"Good, now I'll be right back, I'm going to find Alex and try and grab a word with my parents"

...

William had been gone a mere half an hour before returning with Alex in tow. He'd been stood outside the research bay trying to gain access for most of that time and had been dismissed by several different people.

"They won't let me anywhere near there, they're all in a meeting" William announced pushing the door open with his shoulder.

"Christ" He mouthed at the empty room stood before him, "She better not have..." He called down the hall after her before legging it up the staircase to the top deck window.

"What's wrong, William?" Alex asked trying to keep up with the two-step a time staircase technique William was sporting.

Will pressed his face against the portal window, rubbing the mist away with his sleeve; in the distance he could barely make out a figure pacing through the snow. He banged loudly on the window with his fist yelling her name but it was no use, she couldn't hear him.

He stormed back down the stairs and into Rachel's room forcing open the laptop lid and grabbing a pen from her desk.

"William, what's going on?" Alex panted when he finally caught up with his brother.

William scribbled the co-ordinates onto his wrist in pen.

"Rachel has gone and done something really stupid" Will explained without taking his eyes of of the badly written handwriting on his hand.

"Maybe we should get and adult...?"

"They're all busy upstairs, I tried to get someone before. They won't listen"

William grabbed his jacket and made for the drying room to suit up.

"Where are you going?" Alex asked, watching his big brother wrestle his way into an Arctic suit.

"I'm going to get Rachel back before anyone realises we're both gone" He'd quickly realised just how much trouble they'd be in if they were found to be wondering around in such an extreme and exposed environment. Considering security was so uptight within the building he could only imagine the repercussions of being found outside of it without clearance.

"I'm coming too"

"Absolutely not."

William grabbed a pair of size eight boots off of the shelf.

"I'll tell on you..." Alex threatened.

"Alex, please don't make this difficult"

"Don't leave me like Mom and Dad did..."

"It's nothing like that!" William argued.

"Yes it is!" Tears welled in his eyes and his face turned crimson.

William sighed, fighting with his own inner demons, "Fine. I need you to go into the supplies room and find me a GPS, can you remember that, GPS...it'll have it written on the box"

"GPS" Alex repeated before dashing off into the other room.

"...and a flashlight if you can find any" He called after.

...

The air was bitter as they braced the Arctic climate. William clutched the GPS unit and kept one eye on his brother behind him. They'd hopefully catch up soon, they hadn't set out long after her. William mulled over the various ways he was going to kick her ass for being so naive when they did eventually reach her.

They'd been on the move for nearly an hour and the bleeping GPS unit was convinced they were close to the destination. The base had long since become a faded dot in the distance, there was nothing left, no point of reference to go by but the little unit in his hand. William prayed that the sub-zero temperatures wouldn't zap it's battery too fast.

Beneath their feet the ice shifted. Just ahead of them William noticed a crack in the ice as though something or someone had fallen through. The boys stopped dead in their tracks as the ice creaked and moaned threatening to shatter.

"Don't move" William whispered, just as the entire ice sheet collapsed beneath them.


	17. Chapter 17

"We have to act now, this is the only plan we have, if we leave it too much longer how many more lives will be lost?" A scientist in a lab coat argued his point.

The meeting had been called as soon as news of the first hotspot infection zones had come in. Over a hundred of the residents on base were shoehorned into the research station. Muttering and discussions spread through the the room as each opinion was aired.

"Quiet" Doggett yelled, "I said, quiet!"

The room fell silent at his words.

"This is were our fallen angel is located" He transferred the map onto the large projector screen, "You may notice the hundreds of UFO's marked hoovering above the area nearby" He used a laser pointer to illustrate the surrounding danger, "If we move now it could be exactly what they're waiting for. They could swarm on us like blue bottles to a dung heap. If just one of us gets infected it will spread through the entire colony within days. How can we be so sure we can develop a cure within that time scale?"

The room remained silent as they absorbed the information.

"Agent Doggett" A women spoke up from amongst the crowd, "With all do respect Agent Doggett, I have a family back home, a ten year old daughter and a husband. If our best chances of protecting them are on that ship I think we should do everything in our power to get to it, and as quickly as possible"

The voices of the people started up once more as the women continued, "Now you say that it could be a trap, that that's what they could be anticipating, but I say that they know we are down here just as much as we know they are above us, surely they would have instigated hostility already by now had that been what they ultimately had planned for us"

Doggett rubbed his temple with his fingers as the chorus of agreement erupted. Even Skinner, who was seated in the front row bandaged up with a sling was looking uneasy about the situation.

Mulder sat on the sidelines next to Scully doing his best to keep out of the debate, he too was uncertain of the appropriate move to make. It was a worldwide scaled chess match and their pawns were being taken down one by one.

"Agents Mulder, Scully" A maintenance man leaned over from the row behind them, keeping his voice as low as possible, "I think you should come with me"

Mulder and Scully followed, making there way through the crowds of shouting residents.

"What is it, Morgan?" Mulder asked when they'd pulled the door of the research bay closed behind them blocking out the noise.

"I was just checking the cameras and I noticed something outside" He brought up some images on the iPad in his hands, "People outside, but no one has been scheduled for maintenance work today, we've got a massive storm system coming in"

Morgan zoomed in on another section on the recording, "I checked the cameras in the supply rooms and drying area"

Mulder and Scully focused on the screen praying they wouldn't see William.

"Agents, is this your son?"

Scully cupped her hands over her face to catch the gasp that escaped her. Staring back at them was William preparing to brace the outdoors. Rachel was in the shot above tying her shoelaces in the drying room, and Alex helping his brother shut the heavy steal doors from the outside of the base.

"How long ago?" Mulder asked, already making his way to the store room.

Morgan followed quickly behind him scanning the iPad for accurate timings. Scully followed already systematically planning a search party to send out after them.

"Fifty five minutes precisely, sir"

"Good, they can't have got too far. Get on the radar, they must have taken a GPS unit with them, track them and relay me co-ordinates over by radio-" Mulder stopped dead in his tracks, "-they're headed for the downed ship" He breathed.

Mulder grabbed a handful of equipment from the store room before pulling on a thick Arctic jacket.

"I'm coming with you, Mulder" Scully said, helping herself to a jacket on one of the hangers.

"No, you need to stay here, get that rescue team organised to follow after me as soon as possible. With the storm coming in I don't know that we'll have enough time to get back"

Scully looked to be fighting with her inner subconscious.

"Go now, you're wasting time" He pressed her.

She kissed him passionately. A kiss that was long since overdue.

"Find him, Mulder" She whispered, breaking away.

He was gone, the door slamming closed behind him as the winds picked up outside. Scully made for the stairs just as the roar of the snowmobile engine came alive.

...

William coughed as snow drifted in powder form onto his head and in his face. Above was the only source of light and it came from the shaft they'd fallen down just moments ago.

He moaned, rolling onto his front and up onto his knees trying to will the wave of nausea away.

"Alex" He called, coughing in between, "Alex!"

"I'm here" Beside him his younger brother sat upright.

"Are you okay, are you hurt?"

"No, I don't think so" Alex said rubbing his head.

"Do you have that flashlight?"

Alex rummaged in his suit before clicking the flashlight on. Light filled the space around them. It was what looked like a crevasse.

"Great" William said sarcastically, eyeing up the long drop they'd know have to somehow get back out of.

The GPS buzzed in his hand, "At least the GPS thinks we're here" He said clicking it off to shut it up.

Another beam of light appeared from the other end of the space.

"Hello?" A voice called.

"Rachel?" William replied into the darkness, "Is that you"

"It's me" She confirmed appearing into view, "You fell down too, huh?"

"How're we going to get out of here? I didn't bring a radio, did you?" William thought, suddenly cursing himself for being so irresponsible as to forget one.

Rachel shook her head, "No, sorry"

"I have a radio" Alex beamed pulling the small device from his back pocket.

Rachel picked him up with a huge embrace, "You're one smart kid, Alex" She praised as Alex handed it over to his brother.

William clicked the radio on.

"How do we know the station?" Rachel asked.

"If they're search and rescue radios they should all be set to a default channel...it's just whether it'll work so far below ground"

The radio buzzed alive as static screeched thought the speaker. William held it in the air praying the signal would make it through.

"Arctic base, this is William Van De Klamp calling on radio-" He quickly read the radio issue number scribbled in marker on the side of the device, "-radio six; over"

The radio continued to buzz with no reply.

"Arctic base, this is radio six, confirm if you can hear us; over"

The radio buzzed once more.

"Maybe we should try and climb up" William suggest.

"Radio six this is Tom Morgan at Arctic base, can you tell me your position, over" The words crackled through the speaker and William almost jumped for joy.

Rachel grabbed the radio from him, "Arctic base, our co-ordinates are-" She grabbed Williams wrist reading the numbers back through the speaker as Alex lit it up with the flashlight.

"Confirm, Radio six, we have your co-ordinates, you just sit tight, we have a team out coming to get you now, over"

Simultaneously they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"You came after me" Rachel spoke as they slumped onto the floor.

"Of course I did. I'm still super pissed at you, I hope you know that" William said a matter of factly.

"Come with me" Rachel stood up just as soon as she'd seated.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"Just follow me, you seriously won't believe what I found down here"


	18. Chapter 18

Rachel lead them to the end of a long shaft. The deeper they wondered into the crevasse the narrower the sides became until all of a sudden it opened up into a much larger area.

The two flashlights crossed beams as they felt their way towards the structure Rachel was so eager for them to see.

"What is that?" William spoke with disbelief.

"That right there, is our Fallen Angel"

The metallic craft was lodged deep within the ice where it had frozen solid in the weeks it had resided there. Wires and pipework spilled from the crash site and littered the surrounding area. It must have been one hell of a ride to the ground.

"You think that's cool, check this out" Rachel directed her flashlight to the opposite end of the room.

William couldn't make it out but he knew it was nothing like anything he'd seen before, at least not on earth. He stepped closer with apprehension. A body lay before him, curled and lifeless, it was frozen solid just like the ship. The ice glittered as the light caught it.

"Oh my God" William breathed.

"It's an Extra-terrestrial Biological Entity" Rachel informed them.

Its eyes were dark and sinister. It looked a lot more fearsome than any cartoon depiction of 'little green men' William had seen on TV. The creature lay in a pool of black. It appeared to be blood, once liquid but had frozen along with the rest of the crash remains.

Alex moved past him to get a better look and William grabbed his jacket instinctively, "No, don't touch it, Alex"

His brother stopped in his tracks.

"What do we do?" William asked, hoping Rachel would have the faintest of ideas.

"Well, this is what they need, the DNA. We should take a sample" She bent down close to the body.

"Be careful, it could be dangerous, even contagious still" William warned.

"I don't think so, not in a frozen state. I won't let it touch my skin, just incase..."

Rachel cautiously broke a section of the black ice with her hand protected with a small plastic bag. She wrapped the sample in the plastic and pocketed it quickly.

"Just be careful whilst it's close to you like that, your body heat could melt it and we don't know what it'll do in liquid form" Will pointed out.

She nodded in agreement.

From above, a deafening sound resided around the crevasse making the walls around them quiver. As quickly as it had started, the noise stopped. Snow dust fell from above as the quake dislodged sections.

"What the hell was that?" Rachel lowered her voice.

"Maybe a helicopter, they could have sent one out to find us..." William guessed optimistically, trying to ignore the fact that it sounded nothing like one.

"We don't have a helicopter..."

The wave hit once more and this time they felt vulnerability creep over them. They found themselves backing into a corner to hide in the shadows from the hostile jolts. Huddling with their backs flat against the wall, they held their breaths, waiting.

After moments of calm, William took it upon himself to investigate. He gestured to the others to stay put and carefully tiptoed out from the shadows to peak through the exposed opening above them. He paused, listening to the strange sounds coming from above. Was it voices? For a moment, he considered calling up in case it was help searching for them.

What happened next took his breath away. An unearthly hand curled it's long clawed fingers over the edge of the crevasse. William cupped his hand over his mouth and stumbled backwards, praying that the creature hadn't yet noticed his presence.

He darted back into the cave towards the others, "Is there another way out of here?" He whispered in panic.

"I don't think so..."

The floor shook as the creature made it's way into the crevasse.

"William...what is it?" Rachel asked, and for the first time William saw the sheer terror in her eyes.

"Turn off the flashlights" He grabbed Alex's out of his hands and fought with the button until it plunged them into darkness.

The quaking of the ground grew more frequent as the creature made it's way towards them. It was too late, whatever it was, it already knew they were in there.

In a second's worth of utter chaos and confusion there was a ear-shattering screech. The creature flailed as gunshots fired, lighting up the room like firecrackers. William felt Alex and Rachel dart in different directions and everyone screamed in sync. The creature lunged towards him and William smelt the stench radiate from it. It's heavy body crushing him. There were more gunshots and yelling and in an instant the world fell silent.

William awoke to the sound of his own heavy breathing. It took him a while to remember where he was, but as soon as he did he grabbed blindly at the floor for the flashlight. His hand brushed over what felt like it and he found the button just as quickly.

Light filled the room as William spun in all directions trying to get his bearings. The light revealed a man slouched up against the wall. It was Mulder, looking blooded and beaten. He flinched as William scanned the light in his face. Before asking questions, he searched frantically for the others. Rachel was no were to be seen, but Alex was picking himself up from the ground, coughing into his sleeve. His brother was okay, thank God; but where was the creature?

Mulder's breathing was laboured. William crawled over to him.

"Are you hurt... what happened?" William asked, searching his father for any obvious injury. A large piece of shattered craft protruded from the man's side. It looked like he'd fallen onto it, or been pushed.

"Shit..." William breathed, realising his hands were completely covered in Mulder's blood.

From behind him something large stirred, dragging itself to it's feet.

"The gun..." Mulder croaked, "William, the gun!" His hand was trying to reach into the darkness.

The creature was coming back for round two.

William searched for the gun that had flown out of his fathers grasp. The creature was looming closer.

"Do something, William" Alex cried, "It's coming back!"

Will flailed on the icy ground in desperation. The weapon was no where to be seen. Just as it reached its clawed hands out to finish them off, William felt his knee graze the gun. In a swift movement he aimed it at the monster, trying the fire. It wasn't working, it was jammed.

"Shoot!" Mulder yelled as the creature was inches away from making it's kill.

The safety had been knocked on as it collided with the ground. William unlocked it and fired, once, twice, and a third time until the looming figure fell dramatically to it's death. It released a high pitched cry as it's final breaths escaped it.

William fell back on his knees. The adrenaline still pumping ferociously through his veins. He let the heavy gun drop to the floor and sighed in astonishment. He picked the flashlight back up and focused on Mulder.

"Nice shot, kid" Mulder congratulated, his face wincing at the slightest movements.

Will shone the beam at his brother, "Alex..." He began, "Alex, are you alright?"

Alex was straight as board, his expression distant, vacant even. His suit was covered in the same black substance they'd lifted from the E.B.E, only this time it was alive and moving with a mind of its own. It crawled towards his exposed skin, burrowing inside him and moving like worms beneath skin.

William brushed the remaining substance off of his brothers suit. It didn't react to him like it did Alex. The black oily substance that was drawn to Alex instead tried to scatter away from him, as though he were toxic to it.

"What's happening to him?" William asked in panic. His brother remained unresponsive, deep in trance.


	19. Chapter 19

William shook his younger brother, praying he'd snap out of whatever it was that had control over his body.

"Is he going to die?" His words fell helplessly.

"No, no I've seen this before" Mulder struggled to pull himself upright.

William watched as his father staggered to his knees examining the large shard of metalwork sticking out from his side. The sight made his stomach do somersaults. Mulder wrapped his hand around the foreign object hesitantly.

"I'd look away if I were you" Mulder warned before yanking it straight out.

A cry of pain exploded uncontrollably from him. Mulder took a couple of deep breaths trying to resist the urge to vomit. The only thing stopping him was the realisation that doing so would be even more painful.

William cringed as Mulder let the shard of metal fall to the ground. It landed with chink on the gravelled surface. Droplets of blood beaded down his hand and had begun to pool on the surface of the water resistant Arctic suit.

"Let me see him" Mulder said, leaning over and examining the young boys eyes.

He picked up Alex's small arm in his hand, rolling back the sleeve to reveal wormlike ripples running up his veins and across skin.

Mulder exhaled, "It's the retrovirus, he's been infected…"

"What does that mean?"

"It means we have to get him back to the base. Scully can take care of him, but time is a limiting factor, we have to act quickly, and we have to make sure this thing is contained"

"Why…why am I not infected, or you?" William noted the black oil spattered on Mulder's boots lying dormant.

"I've already been exposed to it before and cured, as for you…. I'm not so sure, it doesn't make a vast amount of sense…"

"Where'd Rachel go? She was right here"

"I think… I think they took her. I followed at least two down here, they could have easily killed us but they didn't, they left…"

"Took her where?"

"I don't know" Mulder winced, grabbing his side. "We need to call out, let them know we need a quarantine set up, and send out a search party after her"

Mulder fumbled inside his suit pocket revealing another radio. He made to fight to his feet but William stopped him in his tracks.

"I'll go, you better stay put before you make that any worse" William motioned to his blooded injury.

…

Within the hour the rescue team had located them and repelled down setting up hauling rigs and administering first aid. Above the crevasse the winds were picking up as the Arctic storm was heading ever closer.

William had sat with his unresponsive brother and deteriorating father. Mulder had fallen in and out of consciousness half a dozen times and Will had been resisting the impulse to go off in search of Rachel. Deep down he knew his efforts would be futile. By now she'd be long gone, on some craft somewhere unbeknownst to the world. He prayed she wouldn't have to endure whatever hardships his parents had done in their abductions.

The team powered their snowmobiles and overland vehicles across the desolate snowscape until they reached the base. Ready and waiting for them were another response team that directed them straight to the medical bay. William was ushered upstairs along with them. Despite his protests that he was absolutely fine, doctors fussed over his scraps and bruises.

Scully was waiting ready to meet them and quickly took control of the situation. Alex was whisked into a private room, draped with biohazard plastic curtains and a decontamination section. Will made to follow him and was immediately removed. From behind the see-through curtains William chewed his nails nervously watching his little brother get stripped and hooked up to monitors. His frail, lifeless body packed with ice by men in haz-suits being directed by his mother.

The familiar face of John Doggett appeared by his side, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. William had only realised Doggett had been the one to co-ordinate the rescue team when he's removed his ski goggles in the hanger.

"What're they doing to him?" William asked, pressing his forehead against the clear glass.

"Helping him" Doggett explained, "It's a complex organism. They have to get your brother's body temperature right down, pump him full of doxycycline to slowly rid his body of the virus. The medical team have been trained for outbreaks like this. Your brother is in good hands, don't worry"

From the other room bleeping monitors came to life.

"We're going to need some help in here!" A doctor yelled into the corridor.

Doggett ran off to find another doctor. William dashed for the room his father had been wheeled into as soon as they'd arrived. There was Mulder, lying still on the gurney with heart monitors screeching their complaints of failure.

"Get another line started!" One man dressed in scrubs ordered.

Another man scrambled to get a second IV started, as his partner preformed CPR.

A chill ran along Will's spine as he watched his father slowly dying, the life leaving him with every failed chest compression.

Doggett returned with another doctor, only for William to yell at him to call for Scully. He pointed fiercely towards his brother's room. She was needed in here more so than with Alex right now.

His father's head rolled to the side and the tiniest trickle of blood fell from his lips. His hair was dampened with flakes of snow from the bitter temperatures outside. The Arctic suit had been long since removed but now the doctors were tearing open his thin thermal top in order to apply defribulator pads to his chest.

William sunk into the background as doctors surrounded his father, all barking orders to one another.

"He's bleeding out!"

"Clear!" The paddles jolted causing Will to flinch and take another step back.

Scully sped past him, rushing to Mulder's aid. It was only as one man moved out of the way that William discovered the full extent of the damage. Mulder's abdomen was covered in a sickening amount of blood.

"We're missing something here, he's losing too much blood"

The heart monitor bleeped a minimal rhythm just as Mulder started to convulse.

"Roll him, he's vomiting"

As they heaved Mulder onto his side another fragment of metal became obvious. A lot smaller than the previous one he'd pulled from his side, but substantial nonetheless.

"There" A doctor pointed to the metal fragment.

"It could have torn his liver. Looks like there's a massive amount of internal bleeding" Scully sounded panicked.

The machines beeped once more and an oxygen mask was placed over his face, "We're losing him!"

All of a sudden William felt incredibly vulnerable. As his fathers life drained away onto the operating table, so did his own. He stumbled backwards, unaware of the tears that had created a steady stream down his cheeks. He'd lost his adoptive parents, he'd lost Rachel, and now he was about to lose his father.

"Dad…" The words fell limp.

"Come on" It was Skinner that took his shoulders, leading him from the gruesome scene, "There's nothing we can help with. Let them do what they can"

As they turned out of the commotion a biohazard suited man called from behind the curtains.

"We've got a breach. The contaminant has spread, we've got another infected!"

Doggett darted past them to see what had happened.

"A tear in the suit, it was an accident…"

Doggett reached the access panel and slid his card through locking the system.

"What're you doing?" William yelled, well aware that his brother was now trapped inside.

"We have to contain it!" Doggett replied calmly.

A spray hissed in the decontaminate section as the air purifier kicked into action, circulating and recycling the air.

William rubbed a misted patch of glass and peered through, desperate to catch a glimpse of his brother, to know that he was okay.

Alex remained still on the gurney, now packed with ice. His pupils swirled with black until they completely filled the whites of his eyes making him appear demonic.

Will couldn't help himself gasp at the inexplicable sight.

"Sir" A maintenance man made a beeline for Doggett.

"You can't be in here, we're trying to keep this area clear, I want anyone that's not a doctor out of the medical bay, now" Doggett barked.

"But, Sir… it's happening. They're moving, probably to launch an attack…"

The man handed the laptop across to his superior. William glanced over his shoulder to see the screen displaying a fleet of moving red dots over a large mapped section of ice.

"God help us…" Doggett breathed.

From the foundations up, the building shook with an almighty rumble. An earthquake from beneath the ice sheet, sending both people and equipment falling to the ground. A deafening sound resonated through the concrete walls causing everyone to shield their ears. They were coming.

END

I would like to thank those of you who have stuck it through to the end with me. I really appreciate all the encouraging comments; you've kept me going! I'm going to be taking a break but am hoping to bring you a continuation of this story at some stage in the future. Remember, Trust No One x


End file.
